We Lonely Few
by Mr Jay Phoenix
Summary: Clementine & the remaining kids of Ericsson are left to recover from the brutal attack of Lilly and the Delta group. Somehow, they must find a way to rescue their friends and stop Lilly. But in a cruel, desperate world where everyone is trying to either eat you or kill you, who can Clementine rely on to help her survive this ordeal, if anyone?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello anyone! It's nice to be on here and be able to write about one of my favourite TV & Game series. It's been an awful long time since I've done some writing, so my deepest apologies if this is unpleasant for you to read. I've been a massive fan of this series since PewDiePie first aired this series and it's been a thrill watching this series develop. But, after Telltale's unfortunate close, it's left many of us wondering what could have happened in the last two episodes. It pained me and I imagine, you, to see a much loved series not get it's ending, so because of that, I thought I'd try and bring some closure in my own way. I hope you will enjoy this story and hopefully find some closure with me on this little adventure of mine.**

 **Anyway, enough of my waffling. Without further ado, I present to you:**

 **The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – We Lonely Few**

It was over. The battle for Ericcson. The fight against the walkers. The conflict against Lilly and the raiders. Finally, it was over, for the time being.

Clementine looked over the courtyard of the school, once a fortified ground, now a blood-stained field, littered with dead walkers, shell casings and the heavy musk of burning smoke and fire. The entrance to the school had been torched to cover the retreat of Lilly and her invaders. They had come for one purpose; to take everyone away.

The Raiders had been unsuccessful in overtaking the school and taking everyone captive. Yet, in their efforts, they had managed to capture Omar, Aasim and a close friend of Clementine's. Who, on the same night, had confessed their feelings towards her, and likewise, she had too.

The thick smoke left from the fight brought a sharp stinging to Clementine's eyes, forcing her to wipe her dried, dirty face with equally dirty hands. She broke her gaze on the courtyard, and look down to shield herself from the smoke. However, her eyes landed on another morbid event that had occurred that night. Mitch.

He had been mercilessly stabbed by Lilly amid battle, in an effort to overthrow her, before being finished off by another stab through the brain. His lifeless body sat limp near the makeshift barricades. His blood formed a large pool around his head, staining his blue denim jacket and darkening the surrounding ground with a red tinge. It was a cruel reminder to Clementine what this world was, and what It could do to the people left in it.

From behind, Clementine could hear several pairs of feet shuffling towards her, as well as the small but noticeable sound of sobs. She looked behind her, seeing the kids of Ericcson coming forward, with Ruby and Willy leading the pack, and Louis, AJ & Tenn close behind.

Ruby and Willie walked past and lent down to Mitch's body. Ruby's sobs became louder as she stared shockingly at his body. Looking almost like what happened hadn't really happened; like it was all just a bad dream.

"It's not your fault Clem" A familiar voice spoke. Clem glanced over her shoulder, seeing a tallish figure wearing a tan coat on in her peripheral vision, with unmistakeable brown dreadlocks.

"Isn't it though?" she replied. "I could have stopped them from taking any of us away. But they did" Clementine sunk her head to her last sentence. A great wave of misery hit her as the adrenaline from the fight faded away, being replaced by this horrible burden.

She felt Louis's hand rest on top of her right shoulder; his best gesture to showing comfort. She also felt a small but familiar figure lean against her other side, joining the effort. "You did what you could, and that's what counts"

"Thanks, AJ" She forcibly smiled down to him. Despite their best efforts to comfort her, neither Louis nor AJ were having an effect on her lead lined stomach. She somehow felt responsible for it all. As if she should have prevented it from happening.

As she looked over Mitch, with Ruby now fully crying over his chest, she couldn't help but feel like she needed to do something. If anything, to try and address the reality of the night.

Clementine sighed, took a deep breath, and walked forward. She knew what she was going to do was going to be difficult. She walked past Ruby and Willy, stopped a couple paces past them, and took another deep breath, before turning round to face the group. Everyone looked to her with solemn faces and desperate eyes. Needing something to ease the pain.

This was going to be hard to stomach, and she had no idea if it would work. But she had to at least try. She tried her best to calm her shaking thoughts before she spoke.

"Tonight has been an awful night. Perhaps one of the worst any of you have seen" She looked down to Ruby, before carrying on. "I understand the pain that you all feel, but it doesn't make it any easier for us to deal with".

"With this fight, they've not only killed Mitch, but they've also taken Omar, Aasim and, and-" Clementine paused, feeling a slight stab in her chest.

"Violet". Clementine looked away from the group, briefly unable to deal with the stares and gazes of her friends. Even uttering her name made her feel lost. Willy and Ruby stared on with their puffy eyes at Clementine, hoping for some comforting words to deal with the whole ordeal. AJ, Louis and Tenn just looked solemn. Louis in particular could see that Clem was struggling, trying to find words that would help an impossible situation.

"They've taken a lot from us tonight. But we must remain strong. For ourselves and for them. I promise, we'll get them back, and hit Lilly and her group where it hurts"

Clem took a deep breath and looked over at Mitch's body before continuing.

"But first" She slowly walked towards Mitch's body. Ruby looked back to Mitch, as Clem knelt down beside her. She put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Let's deal with our friend".

Ruby silently nodded. She stood up, shaking heavily in her legs, looking like she might collapse halfway through. Clem helped support the girl with her arms. Louis and Tenn walked forward while AJ remained still. Louis grabbed a nearby cloth sheet that was blowing lightly on one of the spikes in the courtyard.

Louis placed the sheet over his deceased friend as best as he could. The cloth immediately became stained at the head area, and the material was dirty and ragged. But at this point, anything would do, just to cover the horrific sight.

Clementine let go of Ruby, and positioned herself at Mitch's feet, Louis imitating Clem's movement at the upper end. They grabbed hold of his body, and lifted together. Carefully, they carried the body across the courtyard, towards the graveyard and garden. Ruby's cries started up once more as the pair did so. Willy now also joining in, while AJ sadly looked on.

Never had the child witnessed a human life be taken in front of his eyes. A part of him thought he never would have to experience death. But now that it had happened, the young child felt a heavy feeling of sadness wash over mind, and the world all of a sudden became a darker place.

Once Louis and Clem reached the courtyard and found an empty space, they carefully lowered Mitch's body to the ground. As soon as they did, Louis turned and walked away, shoulders slumped, his walk fast. He wanted to get away from this as soon as he could; not wanting to deal with anyone else. Clem watched as the tired boy made his way into the main school building. She understood how he felt, and left him be. Clementine herself felt drained of any happiness or energy that she had had tonight. When she kissed Violet, she felt like she was on top of the world, like she was flying. But now, that feeling had long gone, when she saw they had taken her away.

She looked down at the covered body once more, before setting her gaze on the solemn survivors. They had all experienced a great loss and tragedy, one that they would never forget nor forgive. For it had been brought on by those who they once called friends. By those who were ruthless and aggressive. And for some, brought on by someone they once called family.

It would be another morbid night to remember at Ericcson School.

They ran. Ran as fast as they could through the darkened forest. Twigs snapping with every paced step. A crow gawking in the distance. The sound of heavy panting becoming louder and louder.

Eventually, the group stopped running, and with it the dead silence of the night fell upon them. Nothing but out-of-breath soldiers to fill the woodland. It was pitch dark, in the middle of the night. It was difficult to see more than 10 metres in front, and the long silhouettes of the tree trunks made for an eerie and tense atmosphere between the soldiers.

But not for Lilly.

After a few seconds of catching her breath, she wasted no time on saying her thoughts. "What, the fuck happened?!" She yelled, almost to the point of screaming. "What the fuck? Some small school, with small kids, managed to defend against a whole fucking lot of grown adults! Pathetic!" She cursed loudly. A deep and angered expression present on her features.

"This should have been a quick and easy operation. Not some fuck up where we retreat!"

The soldiers looked shamefully down to the ground, avoiding making eye contact with their leader. Lilly was renowned in her group for her fiery temper when something went wrong. Even the slightest muck up from someone could cause her to snap. Tonight however had been a massive failure, and so she unleashed her fury in full force to the group.

"It wasn't so bad " one of the soldiers perked up. "We captured some of them, an-". Before the man could finish his sentence, a loud defying shot rang throughout the forest, causing the others to jump in fear, and stare at bewilderment at what had happened.

Lilly was standing with her arm stretched out. Her hand clasping her sidearm. She had shot the man in the head with her pistol. The smoke from the barrel could be seen rising from the cold metal, while the body of the solider fell dead to the ground. Blood poured and coated his forehead as he laid in the dry mud.

Lilly turned round and looked at the raiders, pointing her gun around to wherever she looked. "Anyone else like to offer some words of advice?" She said threateningly. A deep scowl across her features as she looked at everyone.

The soldiers, not wanting to be the next victim of their leaders rage, made no effort to break the silence, and returned to looking embarrassed facing the ground, avoiding eye contact with the crazy woman.

After a few tense moments of Lilly's wavering of her weapon, she lowered her arm and returned the pistol to its holster on her waist before speaking.

"Then let's keep fucking moving!" Lilly set off, rifle in hand once again. Still frustrated from the events of tonight. The soldiers waited a moment for her to lead before doing the same; wanting to keep a safe distance from her.

Lilly looked to her right side as she walked through the woods. She could make out a few walkers moving in the opposite direction to them, seemingly unaware of their presence. She quickly assessed how far they were before shifting her gaze to the horse following close to her side. The animal also pulling a cage along with it. Within the cell it held three of the kids from Ericcson School. Aasim & Omar were sprawled across the wooden base of the cell, while Violet laid on top. Despite the loud bashing and gunshot, they all remained deeply unconscious; unmoving since the battle.

Lilly angrily looked at the unconscious kids, before looking back ahead. How could an organised group be faltered by a couple of squabbling kids? The plan had been to take everyone at the school as prisoner and get them to join her group. She thought the whole operation would be quick and simple; done and dusted within a couple hours. But, to her dismay and anger, it hadn't. The kids of Ericcson had been anticipating and planning for the Raider's plot. And because of it, Lilly's plan had failed miserably.

The kids of Ericcson had been more organised and actually efficient for the group that they were. Much to Lilly's chagrin. A lot more organised than they seemed when she met them a year ago. When Marlon was in charge. She imagined Clementine had somehow changed all that, and had managed to fend off her group without much loss.

"Damn you Clementine" She mentally cursed at the teen. "Damn you for growing up smart". She shook her head in anger. She had underestimated how capable the kids were. How capable Clementine was. She had hoped the once feeble girl would quickly side with her and get the others to join. But, it would seem the teachings of her mentor, Lee, had paid off.

She continued walking through the darkened woodland, rifle in both hands. She only stopped occasionally for the odd shadow that she saw move across the tree trunks, before silently continuing. This continued for another hour, before the woodland boundary suddenly stopped, and ahead lay train tracks. Stretching from left to right, as far as the eye could see in the dark, the metal reflecting the moon's light. About half a dozen old train carriages formed across the tracks, all seemingly lined up. In the dim light, they seemed to form an impenetrable wall.

With all of her thoughts running everywhere, Lilly hadn't noticed how long they had been travelling before seeing the train carriages ahead. The group had travelled from one end of the woods to the other and emerged onto the tracks. The soldiers knew that beyond the tracks lay a train station that they called base. And beyond that, the town centre. She looked ahead, faintly seeing a beam of light move across the base of the carriages.

A couple of the henchmen breathed a sigh of relief. Happy to see they were finally back on friendly group. Lilly shouldered towards the tracks.

"Get a move on. We're nearly there" Once again they continued walking towards the tracks. As the distance between them and the train wall shortened, they could all see more visibly the beam of light going across the ground. The beam moved from left to right, before retracing its path a few moments later.

Lilly looked to her left as the group stopped in front of the train carriages, now seeing that they simply overlapped on different tracks. She spotted a young, brunette haired woman a couple yards from her. She was clasping a rifle similar to hers, but with a scope perched on top of the sights in her hands, pointing down at the ground. She seemed to hold the weapon in a tired grip. The woman herself zoning out slightly, staring at the moving light.

"Clara" Lilly signalled to the woman. She snapped out of her trance like state immediately, not wanting to be yelled at again. She looked up to her leader.

"Take the horse and kids round the back as usual" She signalled with her hand, gesturing to behind the woman.

Clara, half tired, half-awake simply responded "Yes Lilly". Trying her best to suppress the tiredness in her voice. She walked over to the horse, grabbed the reins around the animal's neck and pulled it to follow her, around the path Lilly had shown. She disappeared around the side of the last train on the tracks. Lilly watched her intently for a few moments as they vanished around thecorner, before looking back at the carriages in front.

"Rest of you, with me" Lilly walked towards of the carriages' edge, the rest of the group following closely behind. They traversed across the various tracks, weaving across each lane to pass the carriages blocking the way. That, and the dozen barricades that had been put in place to make it difficult for wanderers to traverse across.

Lilly had memorised the route off by heart by now. Enter from the middle right, across one, turn left and back one. Cross under the carriage, three tracks right and fit across the gap, before turning left. She initially had struggled to get to grips with the route when she first settled in. Mainly due to her inability to memorise things for long. That, and she had only just joined the group at the time, after running away from her previous one. Now, the route was like instinct, she knew her way around, even if she was blindfolded.

They emerged from the carriages, and in front of them lay a massive open courtyard and the train station. The building itself appeared large and rustic in appearance, surrounded by walls of corrugated steel sheets and thick wooden planks, with a large set of gates in the middle. Perched on the top of the walls were 2 soldiers. One holding a rifle, looking across the courtyard, while the other moved a large, makeshift spotlight across the open ground.

The man with the rifle spotted Lilly's shadowy figure among the train carriages, and quickly raised his rifle at the ready.

"Oi! Who's there?!" He shouted, his gruff voice almost echoing across the courtyard. "You better clear off before I put a round in ya"

"Calm the fuck down Gerald. It's only us" Lilly shouted back, replying in an annoyed tone. The man moving the spotlight shifted the bright light towards her position, and the beam shone on her, illuminating her out of the dark. She waved up at them both.

Spotting that the stranger was their leader, Gerald lowered his weapon and responded more timidly. "L-Lilly, didn't know it was you". He turned his back on Lilly and shouted down at someone.

"Open the gates. They're back".

Knowing it was safe to proceed, Lilly walked across the open ground, heading towards the gates. As they approached, the heavy steel began to slowly open inwards, letting out a low but heavy rumbling noise and revealing the base within.

A few people could be seen moving across the base, going about doing their duties like busy bees. As she approached the gateway, she spotted two people in particular coming towards her. One of them being Clara. The other, a tall, dark haired lad with thick stubble and slightly aged features.

"Lilly" He greeted warmly, smiling.

"Connor" She greeted back. No hint of friendliness in her tone of voice.

Spotting this, Connor looked confused and concerned.

"What happened?"

Lilly sighed deeply, having to rely the bitter information to someone.

"They were ready for us. We managed to take three of them, but we didn't expect them to put up much of a fight. They killed one of ours"

"So I hear" Connor replied. "Clara told me about that" He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Is it true you killed one of them too?" His tone turning serious.

Lilly looked at the man in the eyes. He didn't respond with any words, but he didn't have to; his reaction was enough for Lilly.

"I had to alright?" She responded defensively. "The kid was lunging at me with a knife, what do you expect?"

"I expect you to deal with someone who's half your age more effectively than that" He calmly replied. Although Lilly could tell he was irritated.

"I'm the boss around here okay? I don't need your fucking approval on how I handle things. My life was in danger. I did what anyone else here would do" She responded furiously.

"Maybe, when I'm next out with you Connor, I'll lunge at you with a knife and see your reaction to that. Maybe you can show this mystical sympathy when I plunge it in your heart! And with that said, Lilly pushed past Connor hastily. Giving him a hard shove on his shoulder with her own in the process. He stood still, taking the hit, not wanting to pursue the issue.

"See if you can calm her down for me" Connor said to Clara. She responded with a tired nod. "I'll try my best" Clara then immediately took off after Lilly.

"What is it Clara?" Lilly said half annoyed as she heard Clara's footsteps approach hers from the right.

"What should we do with the prisoners? Connor told me we should put them in the spare rooms" Lilly huffed and let out a little laugh.

"Ha! He fucking would, wouldn't he?" She looked at Clara in the eyes. The woman shied away from her gaze and looked to the ground.

"Put them in the cells as normal".

While Clara would normally leave it at that and be on her way, Connor had asked her to try and help her. And she didn't want to disappoint. So, she persisted.

"Wouldn't it be a better idea to keep them in the rooms? If we want to get them to join-" Clara was suddenly cut short by Lilly.

"And you think that will work better?" She snapped violently, her face forming into an all too familiar sight.

Clara recoiled slightly from her leader's reaction before replying. "Well, it didn't go smoothly the last time we did that. Remember the red head who wouldn't give in?"

"Minerva" Lilly uttered. Clara silently nodded. The girl who caused the most trouble out of all the captives from Ericcson School. She had proven remarkably resilient to the Raiders efforts to get her to join them, and for that, Lilly had both admired and hated her for it.

Lilly let out another a sigh, this one in annoyance. "fine. We'll keep them in the spare rooms" She stopped in her tracks and pointed right into Clara's face. She jumped slightly at the act. Lilly held her in an intimidating manner.

"But if this turns out to be a load of bullshit, it's your head Clara Reeston" Clara nodded quickly, and with that, Lilly carried on walking.

Clara looked on as her leader walked off across the base. She hoped her strategy would work. Otherwise, from experience, Lilly truly would have her head.

She had hoped she had made the right decision.

"AJ!" Clementine shot up from her bed wide eyed, as she heard the cries of a baby echo through her head.

She looked around her room, looking for the child, but he was nowhere to be seen. The room was dark and empty; only her laying in the darkness.

"AJ. Where are you?" She said, as she heard another cry be let out. This time quieter. It appeared to be coming from outside, in the hallway.

Clementine climbed out of bed and walked towards the door. She turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open. She gasped and tensed up as she saw a gigantic horse in front of her. She had had this dream many times, but every time reacted in the same scared and frightened manner as before.

The saddled creature walked past her, as if she was invisible and walked down the hallway. It turned right, briefly stopped, then continued walking. Clementine watched, stood frozen as the horse disappeared around the corner. Then, she heard another cry echo across the school. It appeared to be where the horse was going.

She walked cautiously down the ghostly hallway, frightened that something may jump out and grab her from around the corner. As she approached, the faint sound of gunfire could be heard and over the top, more cries of a baby.

Clementine turned to face down the long hallway and went wide eyed at what she saw. The blood red sky gazed brightly from outside the school doorways. It blazed evilly, illuminating the end of the hallway with a hellish appearance.

Not only that, the hallway was scattered with walkers up and down, some of them lurking still in the shadows, while others were illuminated against the red light.

Almost by instinct, all of the walkers turned to face the teen and began shuffling towards her. Their pace seemed quicker than usual, and the light gave them a demonic aura. The sight terrified the teen to the core as she saw them shuffling towards her at the terrifying pace.

She quickly looked down to her right and gasped once more. She saw the horse on the floor, appearing wounded. It raised its head up to her and stared at the girl with its brown eyes. Looking desperately for an escape from its impending doom as they advanced towards it.

AJ's screams echoed throughout the hallway once again. Without hesitating, she began running towards the entrance way, hoping to find the child before it was too late. She shoved past the first few walkers as they made an attempt to grab out to her. The next few she dodged and sidestepped out the way.

Clementine continued to sidestep and dodge past the undead. Occasionally shoving one in the shoulder to get past. However, one of the walkers made a lunge at the teen. Seeing this, she instinctively jumped to the walker's side, landing on the floor hard and winded.

She scrambled to get back up onto her feet. Before she could however, something grabbed onto her right foot and tried to pull her back. She looked back, to see a male walker, heavily decayed in the face, tugging forcibly at her boot, trying to bite her.

Clementine's heart was racing with fear, as she saw the male grip her leg in a deep hold, coming close to biting her exposed knee. The walkers she had gotten past were also drawing in, shuffling dangerously close to her.

Clementine kicked as hard as she could with her gripped foot. The effort was in vain however, as the walker had most of the girl's foot trapped in its grip. She tried again, but again the walker wouldn't let go. The other walkers had now caught up to the pair; their arms reaching out to taste Clementine's flesh.

Clementine screamed as she saw them approaching. She kicked the man as hard as she could with her other foot in the face, and kicked again, until the walker loosened up her grip. It was all Clem needed. She seized the opportunity to break free and hastily got up back on her feet before more walkers could get a hold of her. She continued running down the hallway, her heart jumping out of her chest from the adrenaline and fear.

At this point, the gunfire and screams became louder, to the point that it rang through Clementine's ears with a deafening effect. The remaining hallway was now clear of walkers, but the ones she had gotten past had caught up with her, and almost seemed to be running as quickly as her. Clem sprinted desperately towards the red sky, hearing the collective moans of the undead close on her tail and another cry.

"AJ" she gasped as she sprinted towards the doors.

She almost barged into the wooden doors as she approached them with break neck speed. Now feeling hot heat hit her skin as she came into the red light. Another cry rang out from outside. She fumbled with the door handle, trying to open the battered door to escape. The walkers drew closer and closer to her as she frantically twisted the metal knob, to no avail.

She turned her head round, to see the hallway of undead a couple metres from her. One walker grabbed Clem by the shoulder with their hand and began pulling her back.

"No!" Clem screamed, not wanting to meet her fate. She shoved the walker back as best she could and twisted the knob again. This time the door opened, and without wasting one more moment, Clementine darted forward.

"AJ!"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey guys. Glad to see the story's picked up some interest. Thank you to the people currently following/favorited/reviewed etc this story. It means a lot to see you guys take an interest in it. It means I'm doing something right at least ;). Anyway, don't let me keep you any longer!**

Clementine shot up from her bed as she awoke from her troubled sleep. She drew quick and heavy breaths, her face covered in a cold sweat, as she looked in panic around the room. Her breathing calmed however after a few moments, as she gathered her bearings.

She was sat in her usual position in the room on the bottom bunk. The morning light shined brightly through the boarded windows, illuminating the surrounding area. Dust particles glimmered in the golden light, creating several 'dust shadows' across several areas.

Clementine sighed a breath of relief and leaned back against the wall. It was just a dream. Another horrible, horrible dream.

Clementine looked round the bare room. She followed one of the dust shadows, seeing the particles land on the desk across from her bed. Her gaze then landed on the crude drawings of Ericcson School on the wall. They hung freely on the wall, hanging in the corners by crude bits of cello tape.

Clementine smiled at the drawings, the images bringing happy thoughts of AJ.

"AJ" Clementine quietly spoke, as the drawings reminded her of him. She looked around the room, realising that her room was empty; the child nowhere to be seen. Her eyes darted to his bunk, then underneath. Nothing. Clem started to panic once more, her breath picking up pace again.

"AJ?" She called, panic now stricken in her voice.

Then, there was a loud knock on the door. Clem's eyes snapped across to the knock, as a voice spoke through the door.

"Clementine" The voice was muffled and faint, but the high pitch and lightly masculine tone was all too familiar.

"It's me Louis. If you haven't guessed already" A small, nervous laughter could be heard before he continued. "We've buried uh, Mitch. We're ready for the service, if you want to come down"

"Where's AJ?" Clem replied.

"He's down in the courtyard, with Tenn and the others. Said he wanted to help out " Clem drew a sigh of relief, her muscles relaxing slightly at the news.

"That's good. I'll be out in a moment"

Clementine got up from her bed and walked towards the door. She glanced at her tattered purple hat that was sitting on top of the drawers in front, pondering whether to take it with her. She decided to leave it and continued towards the door. She turned the handle and slowly pushed the door. She saw the hallway. Louis was standing to the left side, leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. Almost like trying to act casual and cool.

"You ready?"

Clementine shrugged. "I guess. Let's get this over with" She didn't want to prolong the day ahead. It was going to be a shitty day.

"Alrighty then" The tall boy smiled. Offering some comfort to the situation. They walked down the hallway together.

Wasting no time whatsoever, Louis began conversation. "Were you okay in there Clem? I heard you call AJ's name a few times" He gave a worried look towards her. "And not in a pleasant way either".

As they turned the corner and continued walking down, an awful feeling of Dave Ja Vu struck Clementine as she stared down the hallway. It seemed shorter length-wise, and a lot less imposing in appearance without the red sky, but it still retained its eerie look. Like it was masking its true nature. Clementine quickly dismissed the thoughts however, before her mind could develop any more horrific visions.

Deciding to stay true to this, Clementine gave a simple answer. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just having a nightmare. That's all. Seem to have them a lot".

"You okay? Wanna talk about it?" Louis sheepishly glanced. It was obvious he had no proper experience in dealing with these sort of situations.

"I'm fine Louis. Really. I appreciate the help, but I'd rather not talk about it" Not wanting the topic to go any further, Clem quickly changed the subject.

"What time is it?" Clementine asked, looking to Lewis. Seeing that she had diverted the subject about the ordeal, Louis went along with it and didn't ask any more questions.

"About Midday" Lewis cooly replied, as he looked at the afternoon sunlight beaming through the hallway end. "You've been asleep up until now, sleepy draws"

Clementine looked shocked at Lewis. Half the day had gone already, and she had spent that time asleep. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

Lewis shrugged casually. "We all figured you needed the rest. So we let you sleep in" Lewis sighed deeply. "Lord knows you'll need it today" His features dropped into a sad expression, thinking of the events ahead.

"You can say that again" Clementine said glumly, looking down at the floor, before looking back at Lewis. "Thank you though. It was very kind of you all".

Lewis regained his goofy like smile as she said that. "No problem at all, my dear Clementine" He bowed in full swing while walking, like Clem was a royal princess and he'd been paid a compliment. Clementine couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and laugh a little as he did the gesture.

"C'mon you. You can thank me later" Clem said, as his majesty rose back to his normal posture.

They reached the end of the hallway and exited through the double doors and into the courtyard. As they came out into the daylight, Clementine stared at the courtyard, stunned at what she saw.

The area had been mostly cleaned up from last night's ordeals. The broken barricades had been removed or repaired. The walkers that once scattered the area were now piled into the left-hand side of the courtyard onto a cart; ready to be taken off into the woods to be burned. Any blood left from the walkers had also been cleaned. The school was mostly restored to good condition.

Clementine took in the appearance of the court, amazed at how well it had been cleaned so quickly. She looked at Lewis, who only smiled more at her gawking look.

"How the"Clem began, but drifted off from her sentence.

"Like I said, sleepy head. You've been out for half the day. We thought we might as well do something productive. The least we could do I guess"

"Our only major problem is the gateway" Louis pointed to the entranceway. Clementine looked over, seeing a makeshift structure of scrap furniture and carved spikes blocking the entrance. It had been crudely assembled, and looked like it could easily be torn down if enough walkers tried to get through.

"Poorly assembled. I know, you don't have to say" He winked at the girl. "We'll get it sorted out after Mitch's burial".

"That's good. The last thing we need right now is walkers coming through here freely" Clementine lightened up her tone. "I like what you guys have done with the place though". It was a pleasant surprise for Clementine to see.

Louis gestured to himself.

"It was all this guy's idea. Again. So you're welcome" He bowed once again. Clementine smiled. Despite the grim ordeal they were going to attend, Louis always seemed to make light of any situation, and could make anyone smile. And for that, especially for today, Clementine was grateful for the comfort it brought. Even if it was a little.

"Come on. The others are waiting" She pointed straight across to the graveyard. She saw a couple of the remaining members of Ericcson gathered around something. Presumably Mitch's grave. The rest of the members were presumably hidden behind the brick wall in front. Clementine and Louis slowly made their way across.

About halfway across the courtyard, Clementine realised she had nothing to say nor give for the service. Feeling rude if she didn't do anything, she quickly plucked a flower from the courtyard; a bright red poppy to be precise. She wanted to decorate the grave with something at the very least. While there wasn't a great choice around, it was better than nothing.

Clementine could now see the remaining members as they approached the graveyard. They were huddled in a U shape around a grave, next to Marlon's. Ruby stood at the foot of the grave, with Willie on her right, and Tenn & AJ on her left. Rosie was also there, knelt down in front of AJ's feet, whining slightly like she did for Marlon. Although to a lesser extent. Willie was also holding a poppy on his right hand, having the same idea as Clem.

As the two arrived, Rosie heard them and turned her head round, prompting the others to look round too.

"Clem" AJ said, happy to see her once again.

"Hey goofball" She said, happy to see he was alright. She gently ruffled his afro hair. "You alright?"

"I've been better I suppose" AJ sadly replied. "But I've been helping everyone where I can. I helped make Mitch's cross too"

"That's good to hear AJ"

Clementine looked to Ruby, who was looking at both of them with a solemn face.

"We're ready when you are"

Louis nodded before walking over to Ruby, standing next to Willie, while Clem took her place alongside AJ. The soil had been recently dug out and piled up again, leaving a slight protruding lump in the ground. AJ's makeshift sign stood at the head, made of two wood pieces that had been tied to form a cross, with the word 'Mitch' crudely etched across the plank.

For the next ten minutes, it was going to be an emotional moment for everyone, as they prepared to say their final goodbyes.

"I'll go first" Ruby volunteered. She was visibly fighting off the tears, her face screwing up to aid her efforts. It was clear to Clem she wanted to get her part out of the way, before she was unable to give it at all.

She took a small step towards the grave, and muffled most of a sniffle, before she began.

"Mitch. I honestly don't know what to say. I didn't think I ever had to do this to a friend of mine. But here we are. Again" She sounded particularly solemn at the last part of her sentence.

"I never understood how you and I became friends in the first place. We didn't share any common interests, we had completely different sets of friends. You were always more confident than I was"

"Maybe it was just because we were both troubled kids going to the same school together. Or that you secretly fancied me. Even though you always denied it when our friends asked you" she laughed a little, masking another sniffle in the process. Or maybe you just wanted to help me find my feet, when others wanted me to lose them.

"Who knows? But, however we became friends, I'm glad we did. I know we never saw eye to eye on everything, but you were my best friend. And without you, I don't think I would have made it this far".

"It's going to be tough without you Mitch, but you'll always be by my side. Always" Ruby now finally allowed the tears to fall down her puffy cheeks as she spoke her piece.

Clem held onto AJ's hand for comfort, as they watched her walk to the cross, and plant a kiss on top. Willie and Tenn now joined in with the crying at Ruby's gesture; unable to contain their emotions. Louise and AJ looked sadly on, doing a better job at suppressing their tears. Clem on the other hand was caught between crying and holding it in. While she managed to fend off most of the tears, a couple managed to escape down her cheek, along with a sniffle, before she wiped the wet streaks with her free hand.

Ruby walked back to her spot at the bottom of the grave, while Louis stepped forward; his turn to say farewell.

"You know me Mitch. I was never good at words, but we were good at being mates. We've been friends ever since you moved here and blew up Mr Tudson's toilet block during lunch break" He laughed as he recalled the vivid memory. The first memory he shared with the troubled boy, all those years ago. The others joined in, finding amusement in the moment.

"You had just transferred from another secondary school. Like us, you were considered a ' _troubled mind_ '. But that didn't stop you from pulling pranks with me and Marlon".

"I remember you sneaking this little device in the U bend of Mr Tudson's toilet and saying to us 'This will give Mr Tudson a small surprise'. He looked rounded at everyone with a smile. Clem couldn't contain her smile at the memory. It was a side of Mitch she never have thought even existed.

"Safe to say, it was no _small_ surprise you gave. We got into SO much trouble over that, and we spent the entire day in detention for it. Both of you stunk the entire school for a week".

"After that, we were just inseparable from one another. Going to Marlon's house for sleepovers, playing video games. You even got me into the piano your family had in the lounge".

"They were good times. Even after the world fell apart, we still seemed to have those sort of moments together. Playing truth or dare with cards. Messing around with Ruby & Aasim whenever we had the chance"

Louis' happy demeanour dropped however, as he prepared his final part.

"I'm sad that we won't get to have any more of those moments. You helped us all, in some weird way or another. I just wish this had never have happened to you" He looked down at the ground, feeling nothing but sadness.

"I'll miss you Mitch". As he spoke his last sentence, he did a little salute with his hands, turned, and walked away, back into the school. Clem watched him go up the stairs, thinking of going after him, but stopping herself; he needed time alone.

Willie stepped forward, still crying his eyes out. He gently knelt down to Mitch's grave, and placed the red poppy in the middle. Then, he got back up and walked out of the grave, along with Tenn, who silently joined him. Willie turned one more time to look at Mitch, before continuing on back into the school. This left Clem, AJ and Ruby.

Clementine, like Willie, silently knelt down and placed her poppy in the middle. She formed an X cross with the two flowers, before coming back up.

"Clem" AJ spoke, looking up to the girl. "Has Mitch gone to a good place? Tenn said good people go to a special place. Called heaven. Did he make it to heaven?"

Clementine looked down at the little child, wondering what be the best answer to give him. She herself never believed in religion, but it wasn't her place to stop someone else from believing. She had seen many great survivors make it this far on faith. Many of whom inspired her in a way. While they all shared different opinions, all their beliefs had one common thing; that there's always hope, even after death. Why should she stop someone from believing in that?

She took a small breath before she responded. "I don't know AJ. Personally, I never knew what to believe in after death. But I do know, that wherever Mitch has gone. He's in a better world. Better than what we live in" She smiled down at AJ. Realising that he was beginning to learn more about the world in a fascinated way.

AJ, a bit confused at Clem's answer, looked up to her again.

"What should I believe in?"

The question threw Clem off a bit, not expecting a question of that sort. Nevertheless, she answered as best she could.

"That, is entirely up to you AJ. You can listen to other people's beliefs and follow theirs. Or make your own. That's up to you"

"You are what you make of this world, little guy. We all make our own path" Ruby perked up, also intrigued by the kid's response.

"My family were a bunch of Christians. Every Sunday, we use to go to a building called a church. We would pray, sing and encouraged to do good deeds, so that when the time does finally come, we go to a good place. As Tenn rightly called it, Heaven.

"Okay. I think I understand. Thank you" AJ looked up to Clementine once more. "Can I go help Tenn with patrol? He asked me earlier"

Clementine smiled. "Of course you can, goofball" She kissed AJ on top of his hair before letting him run off to the watch tower. As the little kid ran off, she turned back round to face Ruby.

"You okay Ruby?" She spoke softly. The red head nodded. "As well as I can be. Thank you"

"What for?" Clementine asked.

"Everything I suppose. You helped us defend this place, even when you didn't have to. We turned our backs on you. Yet, you didn't on us" She looked ashamed at herself as she spoke that last sentence. "They could have taken us all, if you hadn't been here"

"I did what I could Ruby. You guys had every right to be mad at me and AJ for that night. I helped where I could". Clem gave off a shrug. "Besides, I don't think it would have been fair to use your medicine for AJ, then leave" Ruby laughed at the remark. "Yeah I suppose it wouldn't have".

Seeing this as her opportunity to leave, Clementine began walking off back into the school, planning to help wherever possible. Ruby however had other ideas as Clem had her back to her.

"We're holding a meeting later tonight. Try and sort out the shit we got goin' on. We'll meet in the usual spot, at night. See if we can organise some sorta rescue"

"That's good to know. I'll be there" Clementine responded, continuing her walk.

"Also" Ruby perked up one more time "Ericcson needs a leader" Clementine stopped in her tracks as she heard that sentence. She had a dreadful feeling of what Ruby was going to say next.

"We talked earlier, as a group. We're holding a vote at the meeting to elect someone. I think though, everyone's leaning towards you on that one. Just wanted to give you a heads up". Clementine felt slightly shook up. Her as a leader was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want to take on that responsibility in a time like this, but if the group ended up deciding collectively for her, she wouldn't have much of a choice.

Without saying a word, she continued walking, leaving Ruby in the grave in silence.

She was now dreading the events of tonight.

Several hours passed before nightfall fell upon Ericcson. Clementine had helped around where she could at the school during the day. Either by doing guard duty, taking inventory of their provisions, or checking up on their prisoner, Abel, who was tied and held prisoner in the basement. Anything to keep her mind off things. She came back to her room an hour before, hoping to catch a few moments peace before the meeting. She wasn't looking forward to this at all. Her efforts to relax seemed futile, however.

She laid flat on her bed, staring blankly at the bottom of the bunk above, following the various lines of pen marks and doodles across the chipboard. She had been thinking of what she could say to avert the possibility of being a leader, but nothing seemed to spring to mind.

Eventually, Clementine gave up the effort, and buried her head under the bed pillow. She sighed in frustration, as Ruby's words ran through her head.

"Why do they have to choose me?" Clementine muffled under the pillow in dread.

"Why are you so nervous?" Clementine heard a voice say next to her. "It's not like it's a bad thing".

"I don't know if I can be what they want me to be AJ" She replied. "You saw how Marlon ran things. Everything seemed good. But when Brody told me about him and the raiders" She trailed off as she mentioned Lilly's group.

"I don't want a similar thing happening to me. Being a leader takes a lot of work. I've seen good people turn into monsters when in power. I've also seen them go mad, trying to cope with it all. I don't know if I could make the right choices"

"Besides. I've never had experience. I don't know the first thing about it"

She heard footsteps approach the side of her bed, and saw a hand grab onto her pillow before lifting up away from her face. She looked up to see her little goofball looking down at her.

"You never know until you try. Besides, you're not like most other people Clem" AJ spoke softly. "You're kind, smart and everyone likes you here"

"The people who are left here, anyway" AJ added. "How hard could it be?"

Clementine smiled at the boy's naïve but innocent question; only a child could possess such integrity.

"I guess you're right AJ in some ways. But still, there's a lot of things to being a leader. Things that you won't understand until you're older".

She sat up upright on the bed, planting her feet firmly on the floor. "I better get to this meeting before I think about it anymore" She reached her hands out to AJ, gesturing for a hug. "Come here you"

AJ gladly walked into her arms and returned the embrace, as she wrapped her arms around his back. She gently placed her head on his shoulder, allowing the hug to be tighter. Somehow, he felt safe when he was in her warm embrace. Like she was an indestructible wall that no one could get past. Likewise, for her, a gesture like this brought her much comfort, engulfing her in a warm, soft feeling of happiness. It was something they both enjoyed, and hopefully would never leave them.

"I love you Clem" AJ said, enjoying the warm hug.

"I love you too AJ" Clem replied. She tightened her arms slightly to give a warmer hug, before loosening up. She kissed AJ on the cheek before they broke their hold on one another.

"Now you be careful on watch duty. If you see anything or have any problems, let Tenn know and he'll come fetch us" Clementine told AJ. He nodded eagerly.

"I got it"

"Good. I'll come get you after it's over" With that said, Clementine got up from her bunk and walked towards the door with AJ. She turned the handle, swung the door open, and allowed AJ to go out first before following. She closed the door behind her and turned right, down the opposite the hallway as usual, while AJ went left to the guard tower.

She walked down the darkened hallway towards the main entrance to the school. There were a few candles lit that offered some guidance through the building. The yellow light danced faintly across the walls, barely illuminating her surroundings. She reached the end of the hallway and began making her way up the grand flight of stairs towards the principal's office.

As she made her way up the final flight of stairs, she looked over to her destination, hearing the muffled voices coming from the office already. Judging from the angry tones, she gathered the meeting had already gotten off to a rough start.

"Great" Clementine thought. It was the last thing she needed. Nevertheless, she continued to the office. She stopped just outside the thick oak doors and breathed deeply before entering. She turned the handle to one of them and entered.

Immediately she could see Louis, Ruby and Willie standing around a table, layered with some sort of papers and drawings. All three of them were arguing with each other. Presumably over said documents. She rolled her eyes at the sight. It was as she had imagined.

"It's not a good idea" Ruby said in an annoyed tone.

"Well I'm sorry, but your plan isn't exactly well suited either" Louis snapped back with equal force. Upon Clementine's entry, Louis clocked her and gestured towards her.

"Clementine. You're someone with sense" He pointed over to Ruby, who had her arms crossed on her chest in anger. "Please could you tell this lady over here, why her plan WON'T work!" He emphasised.

"And please tell this blithering idiot his won't either!"

"Guys, calm down. Let's try figuring this out" Clementine softly spoke, trying to diffuse the situation, but to no avail.

"Neither of you have any good ideas" Willie chipped in.

"Shut up Willie" Louis and Ruby snapped in unison at the blonde-haired boy. Both seeming to agree on one thing at least. Willie deflated slightly at the comments, but quickly snapped back by flicking a small pebble at the pair from his pocket.

"Oi, you little twit. That hurt" Ruby replied as the pebble impacted on her cheek. She made her way towards Willie, the intention being to stop him Louis joined in too as one of the small rocks hit the edge of his neck.

"I'm gonna get you you little brat" Willie continued to throw the small rocks at them as they approached, giggling hysterically at the sight.

"That's enough, all of you!" Clementine finally snapped, thumping her fist against the hard-wooden surface. The table rocked violently from the impact, sending a loud crack through the room. It grabbed everyone's attention as the noise caused the trio to jump in slight shock of the impact, causing them to stop in their tracks. Clementine looked annoyingly at them.

"You're all behaving like idiots. We don't have time for this!" She calmed slightly as she finished her sentence. "We've got three of our members' captive under Lilly, and we need them back"

"Now please. Help me to figure this out. Together". As she requested, the trio made their way back around the table as before, acting civilised for the first time since the meeting began. The reaction from them surprised her. She expected some form of resistance, but they did what she asked. After a few moments of silence, Clementine resumed.

"Thank you. Now, first things first..."

"This rescue mission" Immediately upon her saying that, the group erupted back into an uproar, dishing out details of plans they had formulated and shouting over each other. Trying to outdo one another. Clementine raised her hand to her temple and shook her head. This was going nowhere.

"Alright, alright stop" she shouted over everyone else. "One at a time. Please. We're not going to rescue anyone if we keep doing this". She looked and gestured over to Ruby. "Ruby, what do you think we should do?"

"I say we stay low and wait for them to come to us. They're bound to bring Vi, Aasim & Omar with them. They'll bargain for that creep we got in the cellar" She gestured with her hand to the door. "And, if anything does go wrong, we can always surprise them".

Clementine looked a little doubtful at the girl's idea. It was a safe one, at that, and reasonable. It wouldn't put anyone in serious harm, but Lilly's group had the advantage of both numbers and weapons. She didn't like the thought of relying on negotiation when it could easily swing in Lilly's favour. And if anything did go wrong, it certainly would.

Despite her thoughts, Clementine remained silent, wanting to hear Willie and Louis' views on the matter.

"I say we find out where they're based. Scout out the area, come up with a plan. Then kill them all!" Willie chipped in, making a finger gun with his hands and making a loud blasting noise. Spitting everywhere in the process.

"That's a great plan guys. Really" Louis said sarcastically, wiping a bit of spit off his face with his coat sleeve. "But how can we do that with 3 kids and 3 teens? We barely have enough people to run this place as it is" He looked at Ruby.

"If we go with your idea Ruby, we'll be caught with our pants down. Sure, we can defend this place. But you've seen how many of them there are. They'll come back with more. Not to mention, they have guns! And Lots of them too! We have a couple of stingy bows. That's it! And none of us can aim decently either, aside from Clem. We barely made it through the last attack as it is" He turned his attention to Willie next.

"And if we go with your plan, we most certainly are gonna die. Plain and simple. We don't know where they're based. We don't know how many there are of them. We don't have the right weapons to take them on. And we most certainly don't have the people to do all this! We'll probably die just looking for them!"

"And what do you reckon we should do then smart ass?!" Ruby snapped back, her face becoming flush with anger. She took an aggressive step towards the table, looking like she might destroy it.

"You got a better idea to suggest? I'd love to hear one from ya Louis. What's your brilliant plan then? Sit back and let everyone else do the work, hoping for this to blow over like you usually do?!"

Louis visibly recoiled at the insult, seeming to strike a chord in him. He tightened his fist as he raised it to head level. However, after a few moments of internally struggling and clenching his fist several times, he lowered his arm back to his side, and calmly looked over to the red head.

"No my dear. I don't plan to sit back and let everyone else do the work. As much as that's a good idea" He smiled. Ruby frowned at his remark.

"Look, I just think we haven't got the numbers to do anything like this. We'll be toast otherwise!"

"Louis is right" Clementine joined in. "Both of you suggest good ideas, but we don't have enough people here to do either. Lilly has the numbers and the guns. If we're going to have any chance of getting our friends back, we're going to need more people for a start"

"And where do you suggest we look? It's not like we're a common sight these days" Ruby sighed hopelessly. "besides, even if we did find someone to join us. Are they gonna want to join in a fight as soon as they get here? I sure know I wouldn' "

Clementine looked off distantly. Ruby was right. It would be difficult to find survivors in the first place. Let alone someone friendly or that they could trust. But then, like a light bulb going off in her head, Clementine had an idea.

"James" She almost whispered. She looked to the group, her eyes lighting up. "James. The guy I met in the woods. He could help us"

"The guy with the creepy mask you mean?" Ruby scowled at Clem. "I'm ain' so sure. He seems very odd"

Louis joined in. "Yeah. Sorry Clem, but a guy who wears walker skin. That to me screams trust issues"

Clementine sighed. "He's all we've got at the moment. I know it's not much, but we have to start somewhere".

"I think it's a good idea. Not to mention pretty awesome" Willie turned to Clem, smiling at her. She reciprocated the smile back at him. At least someone was on her side.

"You want to let him into our home? Both of you, that's crazy! He could be one of them for all we know" Ruby pointed out.

It seemed Ruby's stubbornness was getting the best of her. She was coming up with any excuse not to let the strange boy into Ericcson. Her first meeting with him was brief, but she had a bad feeling about him when she saw what he was wearing. And for the second time since this meeting started, Louis seemed to agree with her. She didn't want to let in someone they hardly knew and dressed the way he did. It was both disgusting and wrong in her eyes, and she'd need convincing otherwise that letting him in was a good idea.

However, Clementine saw it differently. While it certainly was strange seeing James wearing walker skin across his face and hands, it gave a huge advantage to him. He was able to slip past walkers with ease, like he was one of them. He could roam undetected and no one would be any wiser. Plus, he was another survivor. Someone who could help Clem and the others against Lilly.

Sticking firm to her beliefs, Clementine persisted. "Look. I appreciate your first impressions of him weren't great, but what other choice do we have? We don't know anyone else in the area that could help. He's a survivor, he can help us to get the others back".

"Besides. He helped me escape when Lilly and Abel came for us. If not for him, AJ and I could have been taken, or worse. Killed" She looked firmly at everyone in the eyes, determination gleaming in her own.

"I trust him".

Ruby seemed to struggle to formulate an argument, and so did Louis. She seemed to fight with herself mentally, trying to come up with an answer. However, it proved futile, and after a while, she gave up trying, letting out a massive sigh of defeat.

"Okay, okay. We'll let him in. But how do ya propose we find him? He's out there in the middle of the woods, dressing as one of em'. He's not someone who'll be easy to find. As we've said, we don't have enough people to run this place. Let alone do a search around the woods"

"I know" Clementine sighed. Ruby made a good point. "Which is why, I'm going to go find him. Alone".

Louis, Willie and Ruby all looked at Clementine wide eyed, like she'd just said something offensive. It was Louis' turn to speak now.

"Clem are you actually insane? You can't roam around the woods on your own. It's dangerous! Have you seen how many walkers there are out there for a start?" He raised his voice to a high tone, displaying concern.

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the dangers out there" Clem responded sharply. "Which is why I'm going. I have more experience out there than anyone in this room, combined. I've travelled a lot between different groups. Each one teaching me valuable skills that you won't have learnt being here. I've also spent a long time on the road by my own" Clementine said, a hint of sadness in her voice as she reminisced on the groups she had been in through the years; It brought sad memories of better times.

Before she lost track of the conversation however, Clementine came back to reality, and continued addressing the group confidently.

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing"

"James also knows me better than any of you. If there's anyone he'll trust out of us, it's me"

"But you can't just leave us Clem" Ruby replied. "We need someone to run this place. None of us can do it. That's why Marlon was in charge. But you Clem, you seem to have a knack for it" Clementine looked away from Ruby's gaze; this was what she was dreading.

"You helped us defend this place. You could have left us to them after we casted you out. But despite that, you helped us fend them off"

"You built my log trap with me during the attack too" Willie said excitedly. "That was awesome!"

"Not to mention you're pretty organised" Louis spoke last of the group. "Better than me at least. And certainly better than Ruby. She's got too much of a temper" Ruby simply scowled at Louis at the remark.

Clementine shook her head from side to side. She wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to take care of these kids, but she wasn't sure if she could live up to their expectations; if she could be a good enough leader. The traumas and adversities she'd faced through her life, she didn't know if she could live with herself if something happened to anyone. Or something went wrong with the rescue plan. Especially if anything happened to AJ or Violet.

"Look, we need the others back before doing this. We need everyone as a group here to make that decision. It's not our place to choose without them" Clementine said, hoping it was enough to divert their attention from the topic. "For now, let's rescue Omar, Aasim and Violet first, before we assign a leader, okay?"

Clem's tactic seemed to work, as everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "Right then. From tomorrow, we start preparing for this. I'll go out and search for James and any supplies along the way" Clem looked to Willie.

"Willie, I want you, Tenn & AJ to fortify this place and make it defendable. Make sure that they don't catch us off guard" She now turned to Ruby.

"Ruby, gather as many supplies as you can for this place. We need weapons and materials for the gates. If there's any places of interest around here for that, scout them out" Ruby nodded in agreement.

"Louis, I want you to help Ruby with gathering supplies. Both of you, see if we can expand beyond our borders"

"Got it" He replied cooly.

"One more thing" Clementine paused briefly before continuing. "Louis, what you said about Willie's plan that we don't know where their base is. While that is true that WE don't. Somebody in our base does. I was hoping, maybe you and Ruby could..." She trailed off from her sentence, hoping he got the gist.

It took a few moments for Louis to get Clem's drift, but when he did, it wasn't in the way Clem had hoped. "No. No no no. No. I am not talking to that murderer!"

"It's our only choice Louis! We don't have a lot of opinions here!"

"We're not interrogating with that guy Clem!" Louis raised his voice. "He tried to kill us. He held you up at gunpoint. And He shot AJ! What kind of sick person shoots a little kid?! He's seriously fucked up. Both mentally and physically. And you think he wants to talk?" Louis shook his head. He wasn't having any of it.

"Like I said, we don't have many options here. He's the only person we've got that could lead us to them" Clem looked intently at Louis, hoping he'd understand. He seemed to wrestle with himself mentally.

"Please Louis. I wouldn't ask this if there was another way"

"Isn't there another way?" Louis replied, seeming less stubborn in his voice. "There must be a better way"

"Clem's right Louis" Ruby replied. "We don't have a lot of options. I'm not happy with it either, but it's our only shot at getting the others back. If we don't find out where they're at, we'll never get them back.

"Please, Louis. We've got to do this"

Louis remained silent for several seconds as he thought it through. Trying to conjure up an alternative to the ultimatum. The waiting created a horrible tension for both the girls and Willie, as they awaited his decision.

Finally, the boy huffed loudly, but sighing in defeat. "Fine. I'll do it" He looked over to Clem. "Just promise me we're not going to regret it later on?"

"I promise, you won't regret it. Thank you, Louis" Clementine, said, grateful of his decision. She walked over to the tall boy and without notice, hugged him tightly. Taken back by the gesture, Louis breathed in relief, seeming to melt away his worries.

"That definitely means we will"

 **A little development in the story for you. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 2. Leave a favourite/follow, or if you're feeling extra spicy, leave a review. I'm always open to constructive criticism. Once again, thank you for reading** **J**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, Happy New Year! I hope you had a good Christmas break and got lots of presents (I ended up getting a lot of chocolate, Yippie!). And OMG, Episode 3 is coming out next week! I'm so excited for its release! Let's hope it's been worth the wait** **?**

 **I'd like to offer my deepest apologies for this chapter being 'slightly' late. My intention was to post this before I broke up as one big chapter, but the chapter size of this was MASSIVE (like 15,000 words massive). So, I've ended up splitting it.**

 **Furthermore, the story now has a front cover! A massive thank you to HajusCZ for letting me use their artwork for this. He does some awesome designs for the Walking dead. Seriously, give this a check a look up. Check him out on Deviant Art:** **hajuscz**

 **I do hope you enjoy this next segment, feel like we're progressing into more intriguing bits of the story now. Anyway, don't let me keep you any longer!**

The next morning, Ericsson's was off to an early start. As the sun rose from the horizon and brought its sunshine across, a groggy Clementine slowly rose from her bed.

While she didn't suffer any nightmares for a change, Clementine hadn't been able to sleep well, with the thoughts of today running through her mind. She had gone through every detail that was discussed last night, mulling over the endless possibilities and outcomes.

The thought of keeping the school running with limited supplies. Finding James to help them, or someone getting hurt, captured or killed in all of it. These were but a few of the things that kept her awake.

Despite her best efforts to dismiss these thoughts however, Clementine couldn't help but dwell on them.

The girl watched as the sun's rays shined through the boarded window of her room. She enjoyed the vibrancy it brought to the small dwelling for a minute, before mustering the effort to get up.

Clementine walked over to the drawers that stood a couple feet away. She retrieved a back-pack that she had prepared after the meeting, sat down by the side of the drawers, and placed it on the top. Her knife and hat were also sat perched across the dented furniture.

She opened the back-pack and did a quick scan of its contents. A bottle of water, some wrapped up crackers, a tin of goods, a blanket, and a flint & steel piece. Some basic provisions for dealing with the wilderness ahead.

Satisfied with the inventory, Clementine zipped the bag back up and lugged it over her shoulder. She then grabbed her knife off the drawers by the handle and carefully guided it to its sheath on her belt. Lastly, she picked up the hat, and was about to place it on her head, before a loud snore interrupted her that erupted within the room.

Clementine looked over to the opposite bottom bunk, seeing AJ sound asleep. Both his hands were clasped together beneath his head, his legs were tucked up to his chest. His body rose and fell in a slow rhythm, letting out a snore in between. She smiled, seeing the little guy so at peace.

"At least someone got some sleep" Clementine thought. She placed her hat firmly on her head, and silently went to exit the room.

As she reached the door, she quietly turned the handle, opened it and silently went through. However, before fully closing it, Clementine looked once more into the room at AJ. He was still asleep, meaning she hadn't disturbed him.

"Sleep well my little goofball" She whispered softly, and with that, closed the door behind her as quietly as possible.

She turned right down the hallway, towards the school's main building. The intention being to meet the others outside the main doors to the school. The hallway was much more visible than last night, now being able to see the state the school was in. Several dust shadows crept through the blocked windows, and the window sills and floor way were covered in dirt and grime.

Clementine cringed slightly at the sight; she dreaded to think when the school was last cleaned.

She soon came into the vast space that was the main reception area of the building. She turned left and approached the large, florally decorated oak doors that stood next to the reception desk. That too being coated in a layer of dust and filth.

Clementine entered through, immediately feeling the warmth of the sun hit her cooled skin as the oak creaked open, allowing the light to flood into the reception. The bright arrays blinded the girl initially, unable to see the outside. Her eyes soon adjusted however and saw Ruby standing on the steps to the doorway. She was leaning against one of the pillars, her back towards to Clem. The red-haired girl turned though as she heard the door rumble open.

"Hey" Ruby spoke as she saw her, offering a warm smile. A look of worry adorned her features though as she saw Clementine approach.

"You okay? You're looking a bit peeky" she remarked, seeing the girl's pale complexion and faint rings under her eyes.

"Hey. I'm fine. Just overthinking things. As usual"

"It's a habit I've found myself doin' lately too" Ruby remarked.

"You been waiting here long?"

"No, just got here actually. There's only so much lyin' around I can deal with". Clementine nodded her head in agreement.

"You got that right"

Clementine then looked around the entrance and open ground, a confused expression forming on her face.

"Where's Louis?"

Ruby simply shrugged. "Who knows with that boy. Probably sleeping in as usual"

"Probably" Clementine shrugged. "Can't blame him though. What with everything going off lately. I did the same with AJ"

Ruby sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right"

Just as Ruby finished her sentence, the sound of closing doors could be heard in the distance across the courtyard. The girls turned around to see the all too familiar figure.

"Speak of the devil"

Clementine chuckled a little at the remark, waving at the boy as he approached. Louis waved back, at which Clementine noticed he was carrying something in his other hand. Something long and wrapped in some sort of cloth. Immediately she became curious as to what he was carrying.

"Took your sweet time I see" Ruby spoke as Louis came into hearing range. What kept you so long?"

It was clear to tell by the tone of her voice that Ruby was irritated. But as usual, Louis replied in a smug manner.

"Oh, you know. The usual" His light expression quickly hardened up however.

"I still think this isn't a good idea"

Clementine sighed. "I know, but we really don't have a lot of options at the moment Louis. We need James's help if we're going to get our people back"

"I know" Louis paused. "Doesn't make it any easier though".

An awkward silence began to creep in between the trio as everyone remained silent, unable to form any sort of answer.

As Ruby awkwardly shifted her weight from one leg to the other, and Louis stood avoiding eye contact, Clementine decided to change topics.

"What have you got in your hand?" Clementine asked inquisitively, pointing to what he was holding in his right hand.

Up close, she could see the wrapped item was long and thin at one end, but grew chunkier at the other, with the wrapping tightly wrapped round to conceal it. Judging by how Louis was holding it too, it seemed to have some weight to it.

Louis gave off his signature smile, and raised the item up to chest level, now clasping it in both hands. He began unwrapping the cloth from the chunky end of the item.

"Well, I and my fair lady here decided that, if you're going out there alone, you need something better than that knife to protect you"

Louis finished unclothing the mysterious piece, unveiling a long-barrelled rifle sitting in his hands.

The metal components of the weapon consisted of grey steel, with a stainless-steel bolt handle sitting above the trigger. The stock consisted of a light brown walnut, with several streaks of dark brown flowing across the wood in a repeating, circular pattern. The wood also seemed to be varnished, although this was severely faded, and it adorned several dents and scratches across its surface. A long, worn leather strap was fastened to the butt of the stock, stretching to the end of the fore-stock.

"Seeing how you handled that bow pretty well too, we figured you're a better shot than any of us here" He half gestured to his injured shoulder. "Especially with me taking a hit for you". He referenced to his shot forearm. He outstretched his arms towards Clementine, weapon in hand.

"Here, take it"

Clementine reached for the rifle with both hands, and gently took it from Louis. She was right about it having some weight, as she felt the bulk of the weapon lower her hands slightly, as Louis removed his. However, she quickly adjusted to this after holding it for a few moments and actually found it comfortable to hold.

She held the rifle up to her shoulder and pointed it to a distant part of the courtyard, making sure not to point it mistakenly at anyone. She squinted down the barrel of the gun, looking through the iron sites. Immediately, she could see they were worn down and showing signs of rust in the corners.

Louis noticed this and looked a little guilty. "It's not in the best condition I know. I tried as best I could to clean it". He pointed to the side of the trigger.

"The safety seems to be broken too. It doesn't always close properly. So be careful with it" He then laughed a little.

"Although, knowing what's out there, there aren't going to be many things that require that special treatment"

"Unfortunately, we don't have the tools to clean it" Ruby joined in. "Seems the guy we took this off from the raid didn't hadn' taken care of it himself"

Clementine then reached for the bolt handle and pulled it back firmly. It was unloaded, so she observed the inside of the receiver. It was relatively clean; Louis had done a decent job of maintaining it without any proper tools. The only major signs of dirt she could spot was the gunpowder remnants stretching down the barrel. She stared at it for a moment, seeing it dotted around along the rifled surfacing, before pushing the bolt back into position.

"No, no. It's a good weapon. It's been a while since I've had one" She gently lowered the weapon down.

"I gave my last one to AJ, and haven't been able to find one since"

"Thank you"

Ruby smiled. "Well, we couldn't have you going off wonderin' the woods without decent protection, now could we? Here" She reached down to one of her jacket pockets and came out with several bullets in her hand.

"The guy had a decent few rounds on him too when we searched him" She handed them to Clementine, who took them carefully in her free hand. "Don't be using them all at once though"

"Hopefully I won't have to use them at all"

Clementine drew back the bolt and carefully loaded the rounds into the gun. She closed the bolt and placed the remaining bullets into her jacket pocket, and gently slung the rifle over her shoulder with the leather strap. Then, as a group they began walking to the school's gateways.

"Now ya sure you'll be okay out there Clem? You don't have to do this ya know?"

Clementine nodded her head firmly. "I'm sure, don't worry. There's a lot worse things out there than walkers"

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about" Ruby remarked with worry.

"Hey, if Clementine can deal with three walkers in a confined space all by herself, I'm sure she'll be okay Louis added.

"It's not the walkers that concern me so much. it's the forest. It's huge. People were known for getting' lost in 'em, even before all this happened"

"Really?" Clem questioned, looking concerned at Ruby. The information worrying her slightly. People getting lost in the area, when they had maps, signs and phones. How would she fair without any of those?

"I'm sure she'll be alright. That was a one-time thing with the school. Everyone came back" Louis smiled.

"Eventually"

"Besides, I know I'd go out there if it meant I could get away from you!"

Ruby was about to strike back at the boy with her own words, but Instead, opted for something better. She struck the boy by punching him solidly on his good arm. Louis let out a pained gasp.

"Hey, that hurt!" Louis said, as he rubbed his arm. Clementine giggled at the scene as Ruby shook her fist at him.

"Serves ya right"

The trio made their way past the gateway and stopped a small distance outside the front, just beyond the patch of charred ground. Bits of soot from the surrounding grass attached to the bottom of Clem's boots as she walked past, adding a dark, dusty texture to the worn leather. The girl turned around to face Louis and Ruby, who had stopped a couple paces before her.

Louis stood watching casually. He tucked his fleeced coat behind his hands as they reached the pockets of his worn, rolled up jeans. Ruby on the other hand adopted a more anxious stance. One of her arms were crossed against her chest, while the other extended to her mouth. She chewed obsessively at one of her fingernails as she lulled over her thoughts, causing nail fragments to land on her red chequered shirt.

Clementine glanced over to the bricked perimeter around the school, seeing the top of the guard tower peer over the walling. Tenn was stood in the fortification, much to Clem's surprise,looking down at the three. She didn't expect him to be up so early. He waved down to them. Clementine responded likewise before returning her attention to the duo.

"Now you sure you got everything?" Ruby said, her anxiousness carrying into her voice. She looked concerned that they might have forgotten something.

"I think so. Double checked everything this morning. Don't worry" Clementine reassured Ruby. She smiled, feeling reassured. "better to check than be sorry"

Louis rolled his eyes.

"You can say that again"

Ruby once again punched the boy in the same spot of his arm, this time with more force. He recoiled slightly at the hit, his gasp louder than before.

"Hey, that was harder that time!"

"And it'll keep getting harder every time you make comments like that" Ruby threatened jokingly. Louis rubbed his arm up and down as he chuckled to himself, in an effort to numb the pain slightly.

Clementine giggled at the scene. "You guys try not to beat up each other too much while I'm gone. I'll try not to be too long. Hopefully I'll be back later tonight"

Clementine approached Ruby and outstretched her arms for a hug. She was greeted with the same gesture, and the two embraced.

"Take care out there" Ruby whispered.

"I'll do my best" Clementine whispered back.

Ruby tightened her hold before the two released one another. Clem now turned to Louis, gesturing like she did with Ruby for a hug.

"Don't get any ideas with Jamesy boy when you find him" Louis laughed as the two interlocked. "That's my job"

"Don't think there's much chance of that" Clementine rolled her eyes. After they broke up from the hug, she continued.

"Remember what I said about Abel. This all depends on it" Louis and Ruby gently nodded their heads.

"We'll do what we can" Ruby said.

Clementine looked up to Tenn and waved at him. "Take care of AJ for me Tenn while I'm gone"

"I will do Clem" The boy replied, cupping his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice.

"Be careful out there. There's been a lot of walkers passing by lately" He pointed out to the distant heartland of the forest.

Clem followed to where Tenn was pointing. As she gazed down the seemingly endless tree lines, several figures could be seen slowly moving across the woodland. They ducked in and out of sight behind the tall and narrow true trunks, uncoordinatedly moving in scattered groups across the horizon.

"Thanks for the heads up, Tenn"

She wondered why there were so many of them about the area. Whether the attack had drawn them in, or something else had. Whatever it was though, it was a problem for her, as it meant it would be more difficult to spot James.

However, Clementine remained vigilant, reminding herself of why she was doing it. Her thoughts immediately jumping to Vi as she did so. How she wanted to rescue her and spend more moments like the other night with her. Clem closed her eyes and breathed calmly, feeling the light breeze blow across her face, allowing herself to remember the pleasant memory briefly, before slowly exhaling and re-opening her eyes to the forest.

As she set off towards the forest, Clem hoped that maybe one day she'd be able to take in the beautiful scenery with Vi. That she could enjoy the woodland without any worries or doubts to think about.

But for now, she would have to keep that as a hopeful dream.

 _"_ _One day Vi. I promise"_ Clem thought to herself.

 _"_ _One day"_

"Two walkers, on the left side!" a guy shouted across the courtyard. "3 more coming from the right!"

Lilly looked up from her crouched position, as she pulled to retrieve her knife from a walker's head. She saw the undead that the man had warned about slowly shuffling across the grounds, making their way into the train compound, with half a dozen more distantly approaching.

All around her, she could see survivors taking positions to defend their home. Some held rifles at the ready, while others stood defensively, clutching knives and clubs in their hands.

Another walker approached Lilly, hungrily groaning at her with one outstretched arm. As it entered into her range, she leg sweeped the walker, causing it to fall hard onto the ground. She then loomed over the walker, knife held above her head, and plunged it down with a swift movement through the creature's skull. It twitched slightly at the attack, its moans abruptly stopped, signalling a kill. Lilly held the knife in for a moment before pulling it back out, blood pouring out from the head as she did so.

As Lilly looked up to take in her surroundings, she saw one walker fast approaching, Clara who was the furthest out front with a gun. She was aiming down her scope, picking off the undead approaching further back. The walker was shuffling from the left, approaching dangerously from the woman's blind side.

Deciding to act rather than say, Lilly darted forward towards the unsuspecting woman. She continued to fire off rounds into the approaching horde, still oblivious to the incoming danger.

The other soldiers focused on attacking the other incoming walkers. The sound of silenced gunshots whistled past Lilly, with the cracking of metal impacting flesh and bone quickly succeeding them.

At this point, Lilly was getting close to Clara's position. However, the walker was now in breathing space of Clara. She looked up from her rifle scope to her left, as she heard the walker moan and hiss.

Clara gasped in horror at the walker's proximity and quickly swung her weapon to try and shoot it. She managed to swing the barrel in time, but the walker's chest pressed into the barrel. It continued walking forward, causing the weapon's end to penetrate its decayed flesh, like paper mashe, with blood pouring out from the wound.

Clara went wide eyed at the sight, horrified at what the walker was doing. She tried to pull the weapon back, but it was now lodged deep in the walker's chest, and she was unable to break it free, too late for her to withdraw.

As the walker grabbed onto her hands, Clara screamed loudly, writhing violently to break free but to no avail. The walker breathed a foul odour in her face, as it opened its decayed jaw. It lunged its head forward, aiming to sink its rotted teeth into the woman's neck. Clara screamed once again, as she saw her impending doom.

Just as the walker got halfway through to the girl's neck, Lilly ran forward and lurched her knife down into the walker's skull. The blade went hilt deep into the walker's head, killing it instantly and stopping it in its track from eating the horrified survivor. She then pulled the handle of the blade towards her, pulling the limp walker away from Clara. With another pull, the blade came out, bloodied and with bits of brain matter sticking to its surface. Blood gushed out from the walker's head, as it fell hard to the ground, Clara's rifle still lodged in its chest.

"Watch out next time!" Lilly mockingly said to Clara, as she stood shaking from the ordeal. She stared at Lilly with a distant looking, not fully digesting what had just happened. Before Clara could saying however, Lilly took off in front of her, towards the rear gate entrance where the last couple of walkers were.

As she approached the gateway, she saw Gerald and the guy he was posted with the other night standing on the perimeter wall, shooting down at the horde that lay beyond the walls.

"Get those damn gates closed!" She shouted up to them, as she sunk her knife into another walker. Gerald looked back, seeing Lilly just below her.

"We can't, the door won't close again! It's jammed!" He replied in a panicked tone. The other soldiers on the ground including Connor approached up to the gateway with Lilly, finishing the remainder of undead within the base perimeter.

Lilly turned to the approaching group. "You two" she pointed to 2 guys on her left. "Close that side of the gate"

"Connor you close this one with me" she gestured to the other gate door. "Everyone else, provide cover with Gerald"

Without hesitation, the soldiers got to work with Lilly's orders. She and the others dropped their weapons to the ground and started pushing at the steel doors with both hands. They gripped the cold metal tightly and pulled with all their might to shift the doors to move. While Gerald and three other soldiers on the ground, provided cover to them by firing upon the walkers that tried to get into the base.

Lilly gasped with laboured breaths, as she pushed with all her strength with Connor to move the gate. At first, it didn't budge. Connor and the guys opposite were also struggling, with their faces turning bright red in the process. The tried again, still with no success. However, after a third, joint effort form the group, they heaved once again, and the doors showed signs of budging.

Bullets flew past Lilly as the cover fire from the others whistled past her. The incoming horde was fast approaching, and despite the shooter's efforts, their numbers were too great. The Delta group would be in deep trouble if they didn't close the gates closed soon.

"Come on, come on" Lilly thought as she saw the undead approach. They had only closed the steel barriers half way, and already the walkers were within spitting distance of the doors; it wasn't looking good.

Then, a loud click erupted from the gate's hinges above the team's position. A strong momentous force could be suddenly felt aiding their efforts as this happened.

"The doors are unjammed. Let go!" Gerald shouted down as he ran over the overhead catwalk and pulled the lever. Lilly complied, letting lose her grip on the steel. Sure enough, as the team did so, the doors slowly closed the gap between each other.

The walkers however kept on shuffling towards the gateway. One in particular managed to make it to the front of the gates, but oblivious to them closing, continued moving forward. Both gates came together with a heavy force, slowly sandwiching the walker in between and eventually crushing it all together.

The excruciating sound of bones crushing rang out like a bell, causing some of the soldiers to wince. The walker's flesh was squashed to a pulp in between the steel, leaving a large quantity of blood spurted up the wall and bits of flesh sticking out from the gaps.

Gerald drew a breath of relief, as the gates finally shut, glad that they were now safe. "Is everyone okay down there?"

"We're fine" Connor replied. "A few scares here and there, but nothing major" He glanced at Lilly as he spoke. "What's it looking like over there?"

Gerald looked over the wall boundary and directly below. He could see the entire town laid in front of his eyes, as well as the hordes of walkers that filled its streets. They shuffled all about the place, going to wherever they mindlessly decided to go. A large group of them were crowded around the base gates, with more coming in to join. He looked back down, anxiety present on his face.

"Not good. There's loads of em' outside the walls. More coming in too. We dodged a bullet this time guys. A few seconds longer we would have been in trouble"

"What happened Gerald?" Lilly interjected. "Why were the gates open?"

Gerald looked worryingly at Lilly. "It's the Lever again. I have no idea why, but the lever won't close, something seems to be jamming the gates from the inside"

Lilly furrowed her brow. This was the third time this had happened. Initially Lilly thought it was a minor issue that would clear itself up. But It was becoming a problem, as it was starting to become more frequent and difficult to control.

"Well see if you can get it fixed. No one is to leave through these gates until they're sorted. If anyone needs to get out, they use the back entrance by the tracks only"

"Understood"

Seizing the opportunity, Lilly then walked away towards the main building of base; looking to do her other duties around base. Connor joined her in her walk.

"You looked worried for a few moments there" He remarked playfully. "Something on your mind?"

"Get a grip Connor. You know that was a close call. Any longer and I would have had a bigger problem to deal with right now than you"

"Easy with the insults tiger" Connor then slapped Lilly's arse firmly with his right and grip tightly, holding his grasp for a few moments.

"You know you love it really" He whispered in her ear, smiling deviously. Lilly couldn't help but break a small smile at his comment. However, it quickly disappeared as they appraoched up to Clara. She stood in front of them, looking distantly at the ground where the walker that nearly got her laid. She was visibly shaking from head to toe in a distant trance, suffering the aftershock of what nearly was.

Seeing this, Connor with-drawled his hand, his smile being replaced with looks of concern.

"Looks like _You've_ got something to worry about now" She snidely commented before continuing. He grimaced at Lilly, before speaking back.

"I'll see you at the meeting"

"See you then"

Connor then went over to the shaking woman, while Lilly departed off, carrying on with her duties.

As she walked away, she could hear Connor mumble something to Clara, followed shortly by a wave of uncontrollable sobs.

Lilly looked back, seeing Connor holding onto Clara, while she cried into his shoulders. She simply rolled her eyes at the scene before continuing. How she'd managed to survive this long was a complete mystery to her. The woman struck across as one of the types that would have died in the initial outbreak and panic. One of the many that wanted to follow the army to safety.

" _Like they had a clue"_ Lilly thought as she recalled the first few days of the outbreak. She thought all the weak people had been eliminated from the world. But to her, Clara was living proof that that hadn't happened yet.

"Lilly, Lilly" someone shouted across to her, drawing her attention from her thoughts. She looked over to her right. She saw a man walking towards her, coming from one of the buildings on her right.

"What is it?"

"The captives Boss. They're awake"

Lilly grinned as the soldier gave the news. "Good. It's about time too. Have they tried anything?"

"Not that I'm aware of boss. I've left a guard outside the door. They won't be getting out past him"

"Good" Lilly remarked.

"What shall I do with them boss?" The solider requested.

"Don't worry" Lilly smiled once again. She gestured for the solider to follow as she took off towards the building he'd just exited from.

"I'll deal with them myself"

Afternoon began to set in over the small town of Everett, as the sun towered overhead in the sky, beating down its warm rays upon the undead streets. Walkers moaned and shuffled aimlessly as usual through the streets, unaffected by the heat.

For some however, it was a gentle disturbance of sleep.

Violet awoke from her slumber dazedly, as the sun shined directly into her face. Her vision was blurry as she raised her head. She looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings, but all she could see was blurred colours. The brightness of the sun did nothing to aid her.

After a few futile attempts of blinking and rubbing her eyes, Violet finally managed to clear her eyes of sleep and half-see where she was.

She was in a small, compact bedroom, no bigger than a typical student room at university. The surrounding walls were coloured crème, with one of them having some sort of black markings stretching across it. In terms of furniture it was basic. There was a bedside drawer with a lamp sat on top of it. At the foot of the bed was a wardrobe and set of drawers against the wall. And across from them was a sink, with an oval mirror hanging above it.

As Violet's vision fully cleared, the room seemed to be in immaculate condition. The furniture showed little to no damage. The walls seemed to have had a fresh lick of paint recently too.

It was at this point that Violet's attention was drawn back to the black markings on the wall. She now noticed that they were in fact drawings of floral patterns. Long streaks of curvy lines formed into decorative flower pieces, with smaller, artistic strokes branching off from some of the lines. Some lines weaved into others to resemble flowers, others twisted and changed directions like vines.

Violet stared at the art for a few minutes, amazed at how good it looked. It complimented the crème colour of the wall well, helping it to visually stand out. She was amazed at how clean and well-kept the bedroom really was. It was like living in a proper home again.

The only thing that she could fault about everything was the mirror, which had a large, indented crack in the centre of it, with tendrils of smaller cracks stretching across the remaining surface. Violet sat staring at it inquisitively, pondering what happened to it.

Her wondering thoughts came to an abrupt stop however, as she heard something ruffling and breathe next to her. Violet stiffened up slightly, on edge that she hadn't noticed until now. She looked over to her left, seeing that there was another bed just across her own. A pleasant gasp escaped from her mouth as she recognised the person sleeping opposite her.

"Aasim!"

Violet jumped out of her bed eagerly and kneeled over the bed. She shook the lanky teen on the shoulder with a heavy grip.

"Aasim. Wake up you dork"

Slowly, Aasim flickered his eyes open. He seemed sleepily confused, just as Violet was when she woke up. Like her, all Aasim could see where blurry visions. He looked around briefly, before he saw an imposing figure looming over him.

"Argh!" Aasim shrieked, not understanding who the figure was. He shuffled frantically away from the figure, pressing his back against the bedroom wall, scared shitless who it might be.

"Stay back, whoever you are!"

Violet leaned in towards him, trying to calm him down. "Chill Aasim, it's me"

"I don't know you!"

"Aasim, it's me, Vi". Not seeming convinced, Aasim kicked Violet in the knee, in an effort to push her away. She felt the boy's boot kick into her thigh weakly, a blind attempt at pushing her away, but she took it in her stride

Her face hardened at the reaction, her expression funnelling into a scowl. She reached over to the boy, grabbed him by his chequered shirt and pulled him closer to her face. With her right hand, she slapped him hard across the face, a pained expression on his face as he recoiled from the hit.

"Jesus H Christ Aasim, it's me, Violet!"

She let go of the boy, seeing that he was paying more attention. "We went to school together"

Aasim rubbed his eyes frantically, finally seeing it was indeed Violet. He sighed in relief as his vision finally came to.

"Vi?"

Violet relaxed a little. "Glad to see you're not blind then anymore. You okay?" Aasim nodded, rubbing his now reddened cheek. An outline of where Violet's hand had impacted became increasingly visible.

"Did you have to slap so hard?" Violet shrugged her shoulders, letting out a smile.

"Probably not"

Aasim looked around the neat room, finally taking in where he was. "Where are we? What happened?"

Violet thought for a few moments. Up until now, she hadn't processed where she really was. She thought for a few moments, as she recollected her memories from last night.

"the last thing I remember was I was fighting with 2 guys. I managed to knock one of them to the ground, but the other must have gotten to me"

"I retreated with Willy & Ruby through the hallways when they started shooting at us" Aasim joined in.

"I ran back to regroup with Clem, but I must have tripped along the way" He looked embarrassed as his last sentence.

"I-I must have panicked"

"Don't beat yourself over it Aasim" Violet sighed deeply. "We all were"

"They must have carted us off and brought us here. Holding us captive" Vi looked around the room, realising she didn't have her cleaver.

"I hope the others are okay"

"I imagine they're better off than we are" Aasim stated glumly. Violet couldn't help but agree with him.

 _"_ _I hope Clementine's okay"_ Violet thought, hoping that she'd fared better in the attack than she did. She wished to be in the peaceful moments with the curly haired girl before the attack, on the roof of the school. Away from any prying eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. Not to mention the sweet, warm kiss Clementine had given her.

Violet recollected that memory with every detail. Remembering the cool breeze that brushed past her rosy cheeks, as the two locked mouths and exchanged a passionate kiss. Clementine's warm, smooth lips interlocking with hers, feeling the girl's body lean into her own, before breaking the embrace.

How she wished it had lasted longer.

Violet wanted to be back in that moment with Clementine before all hell broke loose at the school. As she recalled the events after Clementine left, of the attack, she mentally stumbled upon a horrible event that had occurred.

"Mitch" She whispered faintly.

"They got Mitch, Aasim" Violet sadly recalled to the boy. At first, he looked puzzled at Vi, not seeming to remember, before the realisation dawned on him of the memory. His face saddened as he too remembered the morbid recollection.

"Shit, yeah"

"She killed him Vi. That Lilly, that Clementine knew. She killed him. Struck him down like an animal"

Aasim winced as he remembered the events unfold in front of him on the tragic night. Violet likewise did the same, remembering How Lilly stabbed Mitch as he laid helplessly on the ground, clutching his opened throat.

A wave of anger washed over Violet as she remembered what Lilly and the Delta group had really done to them. She clenched her first in fury, wanting Lilly to pay for what she done.

The recollection caused Vi to spring into action off the bed and search the room. Looking for something to use.

She scanned the room like an eagle, looking for any obvious items lying about the room. She opened the draw to the bedside, being greeted with nothing but paper and parchment. She huffed in frustration, before closing the drawer and going over to the drawer set across the room. Aasim watched her from his bed, looking puzzlingly at the girl.

"What are you looking for?"

"Looking for a weapon of some sort" She said as she shuffled through the drawers. Nothing but sets of clean shirts and trousers as she sifted through the items.

"Or anything we can use to get out of here"

"Do you really think these guys are that stupid to leave something like that for us to use?" the boy looked doubtfully at Vi.

"They would have put us in here for that exact reason; so we COULDN'T escape"

"Doesn't mean shit Aasim"

Violet huffed once again. She pulled out the bottom drawer and searched through yet more clothing, checking the pockets of every item before shifting it to one side of the draw space.

"They're older than us too"

"That doesn't make them any smarter though" She spoke, seriousness in her tone.

"It only takes one little slip-up from them" She picked out a pair of worn blue jeans and searched the side pockets. As she reached into one of the back pockets, she felt a metallic object brush against her fingers. She pulled the item out, smiling at what she'd found.

"And that's exactly what we've got" Vi turned around and showed Aasim what she'd found. He looked at what Violet held, seeing a small pen knife stick out from her hand, the blade no bigger than a centimetre long.

"That small thing? That's not exactly gonna do much" Aasim looked doubtful at Vi.

"You could maybe cut her, if you get close enough" The girl's happy demeanour dropped slightly at the boy's disbelieving comments. She hoped for a better reaction. Nevertheless, she was unphased.

"It's something to say the least" she said as she closed the drawer.

There was then a sudden knock on the door to their bedroom. Both the teens shot their gazes at the door, before looking at each other. Violet quickly tucked the blade behind her back, pulling her shirt over it to conceal it.

"Don't say anything" She quickly said to Aasim before the door handle turned and the door opened inwards. The teens both watched as the door swung open, revealing no other than the person Violet really hated right now.

Lilly.

As she entered the room, a guard followed close behind her. Violet also saw another guard standing out in the hallway, opposite the bedroom door. He was kitted out with military type gear and clothing, with a pair of golden aviators sitting on top of his brown, slightly greyed hair. He stood calmly, watching the teens for any sudden moves, with a menacing pump action shotgun in his hands.

The woman seemed to scan the room for a moment as she stood near the doorway, before finally looking at Vi. She smiled warmly as they made eye contact, the expression seeming unnatural from such a person in Vi's opinion.

"Glad to see you're both finally awake. I trust you slept well?" she asked calmly.

"What's it to you if we did?" Violet snapped back, feeling the anger already building up inside her. She folded her arms and turned her head to the side, facing away from Lilly's gaze.

"it's important for me to know that everyone around here is alright. That they're safe and happy" She paused slightly before continuing.

"Even for the likes of you two" Violet shot a scowl at Lilly at the comment, but Lilly was unaffected by it.

"How long have we been out for?" Aasim asked.

"A little over a day now" Lilly replied. Violet looked back at her, slightly shocked at her answer. Aasim likewise was the same.

"We've been asleep all this time in here?" Aasim replied, not believing what Lilly was saying was true. She simply nodded, seeing the disbelief in both the teen's eyes.

"It's not surprising, considering everything that's happened to you these past couple of weeks. Can't imagine you've been sleeping well with all that preparation you did there"

"I don't believe you for one, single second" Violet remarked, looking Lilly dead in the eyes. "I think you're lying".

Well, believe what you will. But you've been out for that long. Simple as. I can't explain it any easier than that"

"You also killed our friend. Mitch" Violet spoke with a hint of anger, now scowling. "Maybe you'd care to explain that too"

Upon hearing that, A wave of guilt faintly painted across Lilly's features as she remembered the events. She nodded in agreement, sighing deeply.

"Regrettably, Yes. I did. I didn't mean for it to happen the way it did"

"He was just a fucking kid!" like the rest of us. Trying to survive" Violet raised her voice, her anger picking up a tone. Lilly watched the girl shout. She tensed up somewhat, prepping herself for any sort of move.

"Maybe you'd do the same if you' someone else threatened to kill you" Lilly shot back. " If it was Louis, your friend here Aasim, or Clem"

Violet took a menacing step towards Lilly as she mentioned Clem's name. She so badly wanted to use that pen knife to its proper use.

"Guys, maybe we can talk about this at a better time" Aasim interjected, feeling the tense atmosphere build to a critical level between the two women. "When we're feeling a little more _peaceful"_

Violet shot round to face Aasim, glaring daggers at the boy. "She killed Mitch, Aasim, and tried to take us away. From our home! At what point do you think we can talk about this peacefully?!"

"I can understand that you're angry" Lilly spoke. Violet shot back round to her. "But Aasim's got a point. We can talk about this peacefully. Come to some sort of agreement between us"

Violet took another step towards Lilly as she began to reach behind her back for the pen knife, making sure Lilly didn't notice.

"Somehow I don't see that happening"

Lilly sighed, shaking her head, half laughing as she did so. "You know, I'd heard of many stories of a fiery tempered girl at the school, but no bite to follow it. But you seem to be blowing that out the water right now.

"I understand now why Marlon didn't give you up"

"Get rid of the weak ones first, and keep the best for yourself"

Upon hearing that, Violet's growing anger now finally snapped. Without warning she pulled out the pen knife from behind her back and lunged towards Lilly, arm outstretched, aiming for her neck.

Lilly however reacted to her attack with ease, dodging the blade as it rose up towards her neck by leaning back, like a boxer dodging a pummel. As Violet's hand lifted up, Lilly grabbed her wrist and forcefully drove the girl's arm away to her right, controlling her from another swing attempt with the knife.

Using the momentum of the attack, Lilly then sharply pulled the girl's arm down, causing the poor girl to forward somersault in mid-air and land roughly on her back. Violet became wind, gasping for air at the impact.

Still holding her wrist firmly, Lilly twisted it against itself, causing Vi to cry in pain and drop the knife to the floor. She writhed in pain between gritted teeth, as Lilly picked the blade up and held it up against the girl's throat.

Aasim shot up from the bed to rush to Vi's aid as Lilly held her down, but was interrupted by the solider from behind her.

"Ah Ah" The solider pointed a pistol directly at Aasim's head.

The boy stopped dead in his tracks by the bed as he saw this, with the guard in the hallway also interjecting into the room. He held up his hands in surrender, watching Violet helplessly.

"Sit your brown ass back down, like a good boy" the solider mockingly commanded to Aasim. He hesitated for a moment, before the man cocked the hammer on the gun.

"I won't ask twice"

Aasim slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed, the cocking of the hammer being enough to do so.

Vi looked up at Lilly, feeling the cold steel press sharply into her neckline, and now seeing the guard from the hallway approaching. The barrel of his shotgun pointing down at her face threateningly.

Lilly smiled sinisterly at the pinned teen, somehow pleased at what she'd done.

"That was smart of you to look through the drawers. Cover up your tracks too. Many people don't do that on these sorts of occasions I must say. You're smarter than I thought" Lilly spoke almost sadistically.

"I like that"

Lilly twisted Violet's wrist round some more, sending excruciating waves of pain through the girl's arm as she let out another cry. Aasim sat watching the scene helplessly.

"But you didn't think I'd leave something like that lying around for you to use. Did you? Not without little signs of me knowing" She gestured to the bottom drawer.

"it sticks out ever so slightly whenever you open it"

Violet turned her head to look at the drawers. Surely enough, she noticed it was protruding out ever so slightly more than the other drawers.

"A small detail to miss. Unless you know about it. Which is why I put it there"

Violet looked into Lilly eyes, seeing a strange sense of joy twinkle in them and a dark smile painted across her face. Lilly seemed to be taking pleasure in every second of this. It unnerved Violet, as she felt the rush of adrenaline and fear surge through her.

"So now what? You're going belittle me like you're better?" Violet snapped through gritted teeth.

"Are you gonna try tempt me over like you did with Tenn & Clem?"

"you truly are full of spirit Vi. Even when the shit tide is against you"

Lilly twisted Violet's arm once again, causing another agonizing cry to erupt from the girl. Her arm felt like it was on fire, as her muscles and bones strained under the pressure. If Lilly applied any more pressure, her arm would probably break.

"I was only trying to make them see sense, like the others who joined us"

"I only offered them protection. Plenty of food to eat. A place to call home"

"Wouldn't you want the same for yourself if someone offered?"

Lilly then suddenly released her grip on Vi's arm and removed the knife from her neck. Vi quickly with-tracked her arm back to her side, feeling her muscles throb in pained relief. She stared at the woman in confusion.

Aasim, finally seeing an opportunity to help rushed to Violet's side to help. He crouched down and lent her a hand to support.

"You alright Vi?"

Violet remained silent, still looking at Lilly.

"I'm trying to offer that to you too. A place that's safe. Well protected"

Lilly extended her hand out to the girl. Violet eyed the gesture, thrown off by the change in nature, thinking it was a trap of some sort. She felt conflicted on what to feel on Lilly's words. Was she really trying to offer a safe haven for them? Or was it just a ploy to get them to join?

Whichever it was, Vi couldn't afford right now to fight against it. Even if she wanted to, she knew the woman standing in front of her would throttle her again. And probably kill the pair of them right there and then. Vi didn't have much of a choice.

With a heavy sigh, Violet extended her good arm out and grabbed onto Lilly's. She pulled the girl up with a surprising amount of strength. As Vi was pulled up, the guard with-tracted his weapon from her face and stepped a couple steps behind Lilly. Vi eyed him cautiously, watching for any suspicious movements.

"I don't trust any of the shit you're saying right now" Violet said defensively.

"That's understandable. But at least give me a chance to prove ourselves" Lilly then gestured to the hallway.

"Show you around the place. See what you think"

Violet eyed the hallway behind the guard, seeing trims of sunlight illuminate the outside area. Violet crossed her arms in defeat, sighing deeply in the process.

"Fine"

Lilly smiled once more at the girl's reply. She made her way out of the room and disappeared around the left. The solider with the pistol put his weapon back in his holster and followed Lilly, while the guard remained.

"out you go" He calmly said, gesturing with the shotgun for the teens to go in front of him.

Violet & Aasim complied with the command, walking after suit with Lilly. He followed behind them as they exited the room, standing a safe distance behind them as they walked down the hallway.

The pair silently followed Lilly, as she led them down a long corridor. While not in perfect condition, the hallway seemed to be well kept, free of any debris or major collections of dust or dirt.

As they progressed further down the wide corridor, Violet couldn't help but notice the numerous doors they passed along the way. It gave the impression that this building accommodated for many people, or at least did at some point.

They made their way down a flight of stairs, before coming to a pair of glass panelled fire doors in front. Lilly pushed on the metal bars that went across the doors and made her way through, being greeted by the outside sunlight.

Violet & Aasim joined Lilly outside. They looked around their surroundings, gasping at what they saw around them. Lilly waved around the base with her hands in the air.

"Welcome, to Duck Springs Station"

"The building we just came from was the main train station"

"It's split out into two buildings. This one is used as sleeping quarters, a mess hall and infirmary for the base on the ground floor" Lilly pointed over to the long L shaped building opposite them.

"The second station building likewise accommodates for people on the 1st floor. It's where we also hold our group meetings, if we ever require one"

Lilly then began walking off to the front side of the base. Vi & Aasim followed her, the guard still walking a couple paces behind them.

"We've also extended that part of the station to act as a storage area for our goods. Useful to know what supplies we have"

"At the front of these buildings we also have two large areas to grow our own food" she gestured down to the allotments that sat in the gap of the L shaped homes.

"It provides more than enough for us to work through all winter"

Violet stared down at the growing ground at her feet. Astonished at Lilly's claim. Food to last all winter? She found it difficult to believe such a thing was possible these days. However, Vi kept her reaction from showing, not wanting to indulge the woman with a reaction.

"Over on the left we have a solar farm, which allows us to power this entire place and provide electricity and warm water to everyone"

Lilly then made her way towards a large camouflaged tent in front of them. "Behind that we have the barracks"

"This is where most the soldiers stay and help guard the perimeter" She pointed up to the two towers that stood either side of a large set of steel doorways.

As they began approaching guard towards and barracks, Violet caught the sight of dead walkers in the area. Some were piled up on a wagon, others laid still on the ground. A few people crossed the area, lifting the remaining bodies and carrying them over to the cart.

"Had some trouble recently?" Vi remarked, watching one walker be lifted out a large pool of its own gore. Its blood dripping to the ground in a grotesque manner.

"It's an exercise we do round here" Lilly replied in a sharp but cool manner. "Keeps the numbers down and people on their toes"

"And lastly, the walls. Made of three solid layers of steel, corrugated sheeting and concrete. We have guard posts on either side of the gates to protect us from the outside. We have a similar setup on the gate opposite"

"Nothing, or nobody gets in or out, without us knowing" Lilly emphasised the last sentence to the teens.

As the trio approached the camo tent that was the barracks, Violet noted the heavy security at the gates. Armed guards up in each tower and along a catwalk that joined them, as well as at the base of the gates.

"How many people live here?" Violet asked, intrigued and concerned at the potential numbers the Delta had to offer.

"Enough to defend ourselves, build this place up and still have spare hands" Lilly remarked.

"We have scavenger groups out now picking up supplies, so they'll be more of us about later" Lilly entered through the tents flaps, the teens close behind.

There were several tables dotted about the barracks, with half a dozen soldiers scattered across them. They seemed to be discussing whatever was on the table. Some had papers and drawings across them, others with maps pinned up with someone giving directions. One table even had a stockpile of weapons and cratesful of bullets on the floor, with a woman loading them into magazines.

Lilly waved to the guard behind the teens.

"That'll be all Hector" The man silently nodded and turned back round to exit the tent. Vi watched him for a moment as he went about his business, before turning back round to Lilly.

"What do you think to it all? Good or what?" Lilly smiled brightly.

"I-it's amazing" Aasim spoke, completely awestruck by the facilities the group had. Violet meanwhile, responded in the opposite manner.

"I think this is all bullshit. Just a ploy for you to get us to join in your little cause, or whatever shit you're calling it" She crossed her arms against her chest.

"It won't work"

Aasim looked at the girl, shocked at her reaction. Lilly scowled at her initially, but her expression quickly softened up all of a sudden as she came up with an explanation.

"I can appreciate there's a lot to take in. But it's true. And sooner or later, you'll see this is a good place"

Vi opted for silence; still not convinced. Lilly however, remained calm at her reaction.

"Then allow it to be explained by someone else other than me"

Lilly gestured her hand to someone from behind the pair. The teens turned around, seeing someone approaching the tent flaps, dawned in the typical army like uniform many people around here were wearing. They also wore a helmet over their head, which obscured their appearance.

"Somebody that'll you know a little better"

Violet & Aasim shot puzzled glances at each other before the mysterious person approached them. The figure reached up to remove their helmet, and as they lifted it over, it revealed bright red, shoulder length hair. As the figure ruffled their hair with their hand, the person was a woman. A pretty woman in fact, with a pale complexion and ginger freckles adorning her cheeks.

As her hair finally settled in place, she looked up, smiling warmly at the teens.

"Hello guys. It's good to see you again" The woman spoke in a soft, sweet manner.

Aasim gasped in deep shock at the woman, while Violet had gone wide eyed, her jaw wide open as she realised who was standing before her. Lilly's grin grew wider as she saw their reactions. Violet tried to formulate a reply, but words were unable to escape her maw.

The woman smiled even more as the pair were unable to conjure up a reply. They were unable to speak, so taken back by what they were seeing.

After what felt like ages of intense silence, Violet finally managed to mutter out one word.

"Minnie?"

 **Dun Dun Dun! Que dramatic music *Lights randomly flash in all directions* Again, my deepest apologies for the delay in this post. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know how it was, and I'll see you in the next chapter** **?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just before you read this chapter, I want to apologise for this late update. I thought there was only a little bit of improving left to do for it after I published the last chapter, but turns out there's no such thing as 'a little bit of improving' in writing. Plus, The Final Episode concluded (Finally!), so I was dead excited for that! What a frikking plot twist, am I right?**

 **Anyway, don't let me keep you any longer! Enjoy** **?**

As events unfolded for Violet & Aasim over at the barracks, another story was slowly unveiling for Connor, who was making his way up through the stairway of the station building.

He was clutching a rifle in one hand, while the other was wrapped around the waist of a silent and visibly shaking Clara. He held on to her with a firm grip, helping to support her weight as she dragged her feet lethargically up the steps.

Since being attacked and nearly eaten alive, Clara's body had erupted in the violent tremors that she was suffering now. As the pair took one slow step at a time up the stairway, Connor could feel the trembles vibrate passively through his body. The movement was throwing his coordination off slightly, feeling as though they may trip up at any moment.

"You alright with walking for a bit Clara?" He asked as the pair reached the top of the stairs. The woman silently nodded as she paused at the top for a moment, grabbing onto the end of the handrail of the stairs for support. She leaned against it heavily, taking the majority load of her body off her unsteady feet.

Connor waited patiently, as Clara took a few deep breaths to help steady herself. Her skin had a faded into a ghostly pale hue, like the colour and life had been drained of her, leaving her looking like half dead.

Clara sniffed loudly, wiping her blocked nose & puffy cheeks with her shirt sleeve, before she weakly pushed off from the handrail and began walking down the hallway. Connor quickly approached her and wrapped his free arm back around her waist before they continued to their room.

Clara had remained deathly silent since the attack occurred. She was in a complete state of shock, not really having a sense of what was happening around her. Her vision was blurred around the edges, and every now and again she'd have 'passive moments', where she'd be walking one moment, and the next leaning against the wall for a breath. Her mind raced wildly as she kept thinking back to the ordeal, how it all happened so fast, and how close she was to meeting her fate if Lilly hadn't intervened.

Connor had taken it into his own hands to look after her, since she'd been stood shaking uncontrollably after the attack, and nobody but Lilly had really noticed. Not to mention the full on crying she'd been doing.

"Come on, only a little further to go" Connor spurred the woman on, as they made their way down the hallway.

What Connor couldn't believe was how it all happened in the first place? One moment there was cries of help, the next gunfire, followed by more shouting and people running about madly. It had happened all too quickly for him to process.

In his own right, the ordeal had rattled him a little, he too feeling confused at how it had all unravelled suddenly. But seeing how it had affected the poor woman next to him, he seemed to have gotten off lightly.

The pair stopped as they came up to a brown door. A pair of tarnished numbers that read 29 were nailed into the wooden surface. Connor gently leaned down and placed Clara's rifle up against the wall, being careful not to let Clara go. He then reached for the brass handle and twisted it open.

As the door swung inwards, Connor picked up the rifle back up and supported Clara as they walked through into the bedroom. He closed the door behind him with his foot as they passed the door's swing. He hastily put the rifle down on a set of drawers propped against the wall, before moving Clara to the opposite of the room where her bed was.

Connor eased Clara down on the bed's edge before sitting himself down next to her. He used his now free hand to rub the woman's shoulder, as a way of trying to provide some comfort and reassurance.

As if on some sort of queue, Clara suddenly buried her head into Connor's shoulder, as she broke down into another violent cry.

"Heyyy, it's okay. You're safe now. Away from harm" Connor spoke softly to her, as he rubbed the girl's shoulder more strongly. He cradled the girl's head and stroked her brunette hair, as he began to feel his clothes become soaked with tears.

"Let it all out sweetheart"

Clara very much did that, as the wet patches now started spreading across Connor's chest. He sighed deeply, looking about Clara's room. At this rate, he wouldn't have to bother washing his clothes or himself.

Minutes passed by before Clara sniffed loudly and mumbled something from Connor's shoulder.

"say again Clara?"

He prompted for the her to sit upright so she could talk clearly. Clara obliged with the signal, lifting her head up off from his shoulder. She looked at him dead in the eyes, her own being bloodshot and distant looking. Her cheeks and nose were now a deep shade of red, and Connor could see the fresh streaks paths her tears had formed from her eyes down to her chin.

"English isn't your forte when you're upset" He reached up to Clara's face, and gently wiped the tears away from her eyes with his hand. She sniffed loudly as he did so.

"It all happened so quickly" Clara croakily spoke, emitting another sniffle in the process.

"I didn't even see it was there. One second I was fine, the next…" She trailed off mid-sentence, unable to continue for a moment.

"That could have been it for me Connor. I could have died today"

"Well thankfully you didn't. Lilly made sure of that" Connor reassured Clara and rubbed her arm affectionately. Clara however, pulled away from the gesture.

"Yeah, all thanks to Lilly. Again. She hovers over me like rain, and I always feel so insecure around her. She's in it to get me" Clara deflated a little as her mind casted doubt through her. She hated feeling like this, but with Lilly, she couldn't seem to shake it.

"That's nonsense Clara. You know that's not true" Connor replied back, slightly defensive.

Clara broke away from the man's hold and pushed him back with her arm as she noticed his tone. She got up from the bed and faced Connor directly. Her face screwed up into a furious expression.

"It doesn't help that you're always defending her. Everything she does around here, you praise her on. 'Lilly's so great', 'Lilly's got a good plan', 'Lilly says do this'" Clara shook various gestures at Connor as she felt her fury build.

"Why is it always her?" Clara was eyeing daggers towards Connor as he sat silently, not wanting to anger her any further. His body tensed up at the sight, his eyes widening in surprise. This was a new level of rage he had never seen in the woman, and it frightened him to say the least.

However, Clara's intimidating anger soon dissipated, as moments later, her expression returned to the sad and depressed look as before.

"What about me?"

Clara began snuffling again, which triggered her tears to form up again in her eyes. Connor mentally breathed a sigh of relief as the woman returned to her previous state. As his body relaxed, he reached out with his hands to her. Clara took them willingly and sat back down next to Connor. She leaned back into his shoulder.

"I always feel so useless compared to her. Like I'd be better off not being here"

"That's nonsense Clara" Connor protested. "You do a lot for this community. You help with guard duty, make a great inventory of our supplies"

Clara huffed at the man's remarks. "Everybody helps with guard duty and inventory. I'm nothing special"

Connor sighed for a moment. He wasn't going to win her over that easily.

"Okay then, how about the infirmary? You're always helping out over there. More than anyone else does around here. Tending to people's needs, making people happy. I could go on!"

Clara's face grew a small smile at the reminder of her work at the infirmary.

"You even put the doctors to shame in there. Everyone's so happy to see you when you're there"

Connor gave off a wide grin. "In fact, I think people pretend to have something wrong, just to SEE you!" Clara sat upright and playfully shoved Connor in the shoulder, while laughing a little at the remark.

"Stop it. They don't think that of me"

Connor maintained his happy demeanour. "I'm being serious. You ask anyone, who's been in that infirmary. Which is everyone by the way, who they'd love to see" He gently placed his hand under Clara's chin and softly lifted her head up, causing the two to interlock looks.

"It's you"

"You think so?"

"I know so" Connor reasserted. "People like you here. You're kind, caring, funny. I could give you a heap full of words to describe how wonderful you are. I'd probably run out of time though if I did"

Once again, Clara let out another laugh. This time louder and more exuberant. For the first time since the attack had happened, Clara was cheerful. It reassured Connor he was doing right.

"Stop it you. You know how to be a big tease"

"I mean it! I could use so many words to describe how perfect you ar-"

Connor was suddenly interrupted from his sentence, as Clara leaned in towards him and kissed him firmly. He felt her gently caressing his mouth with her own. Her soft, hot and perky lips pressing arousingly into his. She passionately changed angles of every kiss and wrapped her arms tightly around the man's neck. He gladly returned the affection with his own authority, leaning into every breath and stroke that they shared.

The pair became instantly aroused as their minds rushed with pleasure and lust. They completely forgot about the ordeal they had just incurred, only focusing on the other's comfort, and who was inside who's mouth.

The two remained in their little make out session for a good few minutes, not wanting it to end.

"Are you. On. Duty. Tonight" Clara said passionately between each pause of a kiss. Connor, almost unable to answer, managed a quick nod. Clara briefly broke away from the kissing, feeling slightly out of breath.

"Got the group meeting before too. Talking about what to do with Abel" Clara looked slightly disappointed at Connor, giving him a frownful yet sultry look at him. Connor however, grinned wildly.

"But that's not for another couple hours yet" At that, Clara grinned wildly.

"You sure that's enough time?" Clara said playfully, tracing one of her fingers down the man's chest in an S-curve way towards his stomach

"It might just be" Connor leaned in and kissed Clara, resuming their make out session.

Connor then rolled Clara onto her back, landing softly against the bed sheets, all while still kissing the woman. He started taking off his shirt, while Clara unbuttoned hers.

"You definitely are a tease, Connor McGillian"

Connor's grin just grew wilder. "I'll be showing you plenty of that"

"Are you sure Aasim will be alright?" Violet proclaimed, as she walked off with Minnie, while Aasim remained within the Barracks' quarters. He was sat at the table with the unloaded weapons with another soldier, helping the man load ammunition into the guns.

"He'll be fine Vi, he always is" Minnie replied back, as the pair exited the tent. "Gerald will take care of him anyway. He's only loading weapons for us"

"Remind me again, why are just you and me heading out, and Aasim is being left behind?" Vi asked, as Minnie hadn't really explained as they left the barracks. Minnie turned round and look at Vi while still walking.

"So you and me could have some time alone, obviously. I haven't seen you in over a year. Would be nice to catch up with you in privacy, rather than everyone overhearing" She shook her in amusement.

"Would have thought that was easy enough for you to spot Vi" Minnie let out a small giggle.

"Yeah well. Better to be sure I guess" Vi simply replied.

"I've missed you a lot you know, Vi"

There was a moment of silence between the pair before Violet finally replied.

"Yeah. Me too"

Wanting to avoid any awkwardness between them, Violet decided to restart the conversation.

"So, uh, where we heading again?" Minnie rolled her eyes and again let out a little giggle at Vi's comment.

"To the storage room silly. I just said that back there. We're sorting out some group supplies for the morning. I've got to pick up the keys from my room though first"

"Oh yeah. Right. I forgot about that" Violet muttered the last sentence under her breath.

In truth, Violet knew full well where they were going and what they were doing. She was just hoping for a conversation to the girl she hadn't seen in over a year. That somehow, her words could summarise how she'd spent her time away from everything. And, perhaps also, an explanation to where she'd been all that time. Not that Violet would be asking that directly though.

"So, you uh, in charge of doing this for the group then?"

"Sort of, yeah. Some other people do it with me, and we take it turns who does what. But generally, I hold on to the keys"

Minnie looked to Violet as she approached alongside her.

"How are things your end? Everyone alright at the school?"

Violet casually shrugged. "Same as usual I guess. Still trying to survive the shit show we call life"

Minnie giggled at the girl's response. "Aren't we all? I guess it's all we can do these days" Minnie said, as she felt a cool breeze blow across her cheeks, despite the warm weather.

"And it's only gonna get worse, what with Winter fast approaching"

"You got that right"

As the girls approached the entrance to the train station with the storage area, a spell of silence fell between the pair.

"Minnie" Violet finally asked.

"Hmm?"

"You never really answered Aasim's question, back at the Barracks. Why you never came back?"

"Why didn't you?"

Minnie didn't greet Violet with an immediate answer. She fidgeted almost agitated with her right fingers whilst looking down at the ground. She seemed to angle her face slightly away from Violet, as if to obscure her features behind her red hair.

"With everything going off here, and trying to stay alive, I guess it slipped my mind" Minnie finally managed to reply.

"It Slipped your mind, huh?" Violet looked over to Minnie inquisitively, despite the girl still looking away from her.

"Yeah. Busy trying to make it through. You can understand" Minnie almost blurted out, her voice seemingly rushed.

"You uh, been with anyone since I left?" The girl quickly diverted to another topic.

Minerva's question threw Violet off the tracks a bit. They hadn't seen each other in 12 months, and she was asking if she'd met someone else?

"That's a bit of a weird question to ask Minnie?"

"It's an important one to know the answer to" She now looked back to Violet, with a cheeky grin on her face.

"If you get what I mean" The girl winked at Vi seductively.

"Not Really. No" Violet replied.

Minnie looked at her puzzled, seeming unsatisfied with her answer.

"Not really? Does that mean you have? Oooo, don't tell me. Ruby's secretly bent!"

"What? No!" Violet shot back defensively. "Ruby's not bent, and I haven't been dating her! Like I told you, I haven't been with anyone since. Period"

Sensing the hostility from the girl, Minnie decided to back off with the prying. She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Gee, don't bite my head over it. Was only asking"

Despite knowing that her last sentence wasn't entirely true, Violet didn't want to reveal that to the girl. She had only learned Minnie was alive a hour ago. It wasn't like she could pick up from where they were last.

Besides, something didn't sit right with Vi on how Minnie was acting. She seemed to be a completely different person to what she use to be, which unsettled Vi a bit. And because of it, she felt slightly hostile towards her.

That, and she was now in Lilly's group, which only made things worse. She didn't trust whether the information she could say would stay between the two.

"It's not like you've got many options there anyway" Minnie said, grinning at her own remark. Violet silently agreed with the girl.

While Minnie did her best to disguise her reactions behind her hair, Violet knew full well Minnie was delighted that she hadn't found someone else to be with. She knew the girl far too well to understand that.

They came up to the old extended station building and entered through its double door entrance at the front. Violet noticed they had entered the opposite building to where she was staying, where the storage area had built attached to. It was considerably older than the other building, with the exposed brick walling giving the whole interior an aged look, like it had been built in the 60's. Not to mention, it was considerably darker and creepier than its counterpart.

"Is this all used for storage and accommodation then?" Violet asked as they made their way up a pair of stairs.

Minnie let out a chuckle at Vi's comment. "If that was the case we'd have more bedrooms than people"

"We have an armoury and a small fuel depot on the ground floor, next to our storage space. Makes sense to have everything centralised"

"Don't be getting any ideas though about the armoury. It's constantly guarded"

"yeah, I bet it is" Violet silently muttered under her breath.

Minnie led the way up another flight of stairs, and down another hallway through the building. This time however they stopped only a few doors down to their right. Nothing special about the door, made of wood, and seen its fair share of use throughout the years, as evident with its dents & scratches. One of the numbers on the door was missing a screw, causing it to hang loosely in the wood and be easily rotated round if wanted.

While difficult to see at first with the crooked number, Violet saw the unpainted outline of the number underneath from where the door had been previously painted. It read 26.

"This is my room. Do excuse me if it's a _little_ messy" Minnie sheepishly replied. She retrieved a silver key from her pocket and placed it into the door's lock. As she twisted the key round, a loud click could be heard from the door, signalling it was unlocked. Minerva then turned the handle and entered, leaving the door open for Violet.

Violet slowly walked through with the girl. She walked past the doorway, turning back round to close the door behind her.

"We better make this quick. There's a group meeting soon" Minnie spoke from behind, her tone faster than usual.

"Make what quick?" Violet asked to the girl. She gently closed the door behind her.

"We're only here to get ke-"

As Violet swung round to face the room, she was interrupted mid-sentence, as she suddenly felt a force push her body up against the closed door. She felt hot smooth flesh pressed against her lips and a pair of arms gently cradling the underside of her neck. Violet shockingly opened her eyes, the sudden force initially causing her to close her eyes instinctively. She saw Minnie's face right up against her own, her mouth interlocking with hers.

" " Violet finally mumbled out between breaths as she finally processed what was occurring. She leaned back in an effort to break way, but Minnie kept her body firmly up against the door and her lips pressed onto her own.

"Shut up. I've waited for this a long time"

Minnie passionately continued her borage of kissing, enjoying the silky flesh that she felt against her lips. It was a heavenly feeling, as she felt her mind dash with excitement and pleasure. A strong wave of adrenaline hit the girl's body, which only further added to her excitement.

Violet likewise felt the same sea of adrenaline hit her body, but for an entirely different reason.

"Stop. Minnie"

Violet pushed the girl slightly with her arms in effort to move her away. The red-haired girl simply took the push as a playful gesture, which only added to her own excitement and continued kissing. Violet felt a wave of anger slowly building up by the second as Minnie continued kissing her.

"Stop"

Violet repeated, this time more assertive than before and pushing harder. Still, Minnie didn't let stop. In face, she seemed to become more passionate the more Violet resisted, like she was actually enjoying Violet's pleas. But then suddenly, Something in Violet finally snapped, causing her building rage to finally boil over.

"Stop!"

Violet shoved Minnie as hard as she could with her arms, causing the girl to break from her embrace and stumble backwards. Finally, the pair were broken from their hold.

Minnie stood a few paces opposite from Violet. Her once lustful expression replaced with fury, as she stared daggers at Violet.

"What the hell was that for Vi? I haven't seen you in over a year, and this is how you treat me?"

"How I treat you?" Violet sarcastically replied. "You've been missing for a whole year Minnie! A whole fucking year! How do explain yourself for all that? You sat here for all this time, when you could have come back to us"

"it wasn't that easy Vi. I didn't have a chance to" Minnie weakly replied. Her response however only seemed to add fuel to Violet's rage, as the girl clenched her hands into shaking fists.

"Don't give me a bullshit excuse, Minerva! You had every fucking opportunity to come back to us. Yet, you chose not to"

It was Minnie's turn to finally snap back. "I had no fucking choice okay?! Shit happened Vi, to me, Chloe. It changed us both!"

Violet angrily crossed her arms, unimpressed with her answer. "Enough to forget your own brother?"

Minnie looked at Violet straight on, looking at her with hurt eyes and a wounded expression. "Don't you dare bring Tenn into this, Vi! That's not fair"

"And you think it's fair to leave him on his own? Not knowing that his sisters are still alive? He thinks you're both dead Minnie. Don't tell me about what's unfair in this argument!"

"You tell me then Minerva, what should I tell your brother? That is sister is very much alive, living a better life without him? That's she's moved on from her old life and start another? You tell me right now Minvera, what should I say to Tenn when I get out of this god forsaken hell hole!"

Minnie's tears finally let lose, unable to hold them back anymore. She let out a loud whimper, as she tried to reply back to Violet, but words seemed to fail her.

Violet satisfied with the girl's answer. She approached up to the girl, stopping just in front of the girl as she balled her eyes out with her head down.

"When I do get out of here Minnie, I'll tell Tenn that his sister is alive, and that she's doing well. But when I do, I'll also tell him that his sister was too busy trying to survive to try and come back to her brother. That it slipped her mind. Let's see if _he'll_ forget something like that, like you did"

Feeling as if she had let out everything she wanted to say, she turned to exit the room. She approached the doorway and began turning the handle, before she heard another sniffle erupt from Minnie.

"Vi…" Minnie feebly called out to Violet. Violet looked round to see what the girl had to say, but Minnie's response fell short, as her words seemed to catch in her mouth.

Seeing this, Violet saw her opportunity and opened the door to leave. She exited the room, leaving the room and a crying Minnie.

A disgruntled and irritated Lilly exited from a nearby room. She huffed angrily as stormed down the hallway back to her dormitory.

She, along with several other key members of the community had just finished a meeting regarding the group's future. They had discussed problems regarding the war against the group in Richmond, Abel's capture, but nothing in regard to dealing with Ericsson's School. It was safe to say, the meeting had stirred out a foul mood from the woman.

As she made her way out of the building, attending members of the meeting also exited from the meeting room, going in their own directions towards their own rooms or duties. Some took the opposite direction down the hallway, while others followed behind her. Their footsteps clanging loudly in the silent hall.

One pair of footsteps in particular appeared to be fast approaching, increasing in loudness rapidly as they approached Lilly from behind.

"You okay?" The person following her said. Lilly didn't bother turning around to address the person.

"What do you think?" Lilly answered, obviously pissed off.

"You heard what they had to say right?"

"Oh, I was listening alright" the man replied, seemingly annoyed himself. "This whole war has to stop. It's a losing battle for everyone. More and more people are coming back wounded and dead"

Lilly huffed in amusement. "And are you going to be the one to stop it?" Get the people we're fighting against to suddenly quit? They're not going to stop until we're all dead"

"And what about Abel"

Lilly huffed in amusement. "What about him?"

"You're happy to leave them there by himself? No effort to rescue him at all?"

"Abel's a fucking pawn in all this. He knew what he was getting himself into"

"Besides, we'll get him in a couple days, when we go back to the school and finish things off" Lilly said, as she envisioned a successful capture of the school and the kids holed there.

It had been agreed that another attack would be carried out at Ericssons in a few days to finish the jo and recruit the kids to their war efforts. This time it would be carried out with more troops and better prepared.

While Lilly was happy to attack the school once again, it had annoyed her that she'd have to wait for the few days until she could.

The man sighed and shook his head. "You're obsessed with capturing that damn school. Aren't you worried Abel will talk?"

"Not in the slightest. They're kids after all. What are they going to do? Torture him? They won't know the slightest thing about such things"

"And even if they did get him to talk, their only option is to negotiate with us. We have more troops, training, weapons and better walls than they do"

"They won't win" Lilly re-affirmed.

Connor looked over to Lilly with a look of disbelief. "yeah, and look how that turned out for you last time"

Lilly huffed as he reminded her of the attack. She shook her head in anger.

"Are you going to keep reminding me of that, or am I going to have to cut out that tongue of yours?

The man half held his hands up in surrender, submitting to his leader's threating matter.

"Only saying"

Before long, the pair were stood outside in the corridor of the accommodation block. Lilly retrieved her key from her jacket pocket, and slid the key in.

"Don't you have your little mistress to keep company tonight?" Lilly snidely remarked to the man.

The man scratched the back of his head playfully. "Ahh, I thought I was doing that right now?" Lilly glared at him for a moment as he playfully grinned at her.

"She'll be asleep by now. Wouldn't want to disturb her" The man's smile suddenly grew wider.

"Besides, she thinks I'm on guard duty tonight"

Hearing this, Lilly's serious demeanour suddenly dropped, and her features curled into a playful look.

"Well in that case, you'd better come in"

Lilly swung the door open and entered her room. An eager Connor quickly followed her into the room, before hastily closing and locking the door.

As the evening began to draw to an end, the sun began its usual descent over the horizon, and with it, the darkness of the moon began to creep in.

Clementine watched as she saw the distant sun shine above through the trees of the woodland, casting its final rays down to the ground. It signalled that night time was beginning to set in. Which meant that Clementine didn't have much time.

 _"_ _Damn"_ Clementine cursed mentally. She'd spent the good part of the day searching through the woods for James, with no luck finding him whatsoever. A distant part of her hoped she would have found him by now, and that they'd be setting back to the school. Within the safety of the walls. But, to Clem's better judgement and rotten luck, she knew that wouldn't be the case.

She slowly crouched down and knelt behind some bushes, taking some time to gather her bearings and feeling the weight of her shouldered rifle through its leather strap. She peered around at her surroundings.

She had traversed a good distance away from the safe zone that Marlon had originally mapped out for everyone, probably further than what anyone else at the school had managed. She event so far as to reaching one end of the woods within a couple hours. All she had come to however were open fields that stretched as far as the eye could see, before she looped back into the woodland.

 _"_ _Ruby was right. This place is huge"_

Clementine was interrupted from her thoughts, as the sound of faint footsteps trekked across the ground. She listened intently, sitting deadly silent behind the shrubs as she gathered which direction they were coming from.

As the steps began progressively louder and sharper, she deduced whoever was moving was in front of where she was hiding. Clementine slowly reached for the rifle and readied it in her shoulder. She cautiously peered over the top of the bushes to get a better view.

Over the bramble's branches, she could see someone of some sort crouching down, grabbing something on the ground and fiddling with it in silence, their whole attention drawn to whatever they were doing in front of them. No sound erupted from the person as they fiddled about with the ground, making Clem believe that they might be a survivor. The shrub's branches however prevented Clem from fully seeing what was happening. She arched her neck to try and get a better view, but to no success.

Clementine slowly lowered back down to her original position. She inched the safety catch of the weapon forward until it clicked in place. She drew a slow steady breath, closing her eyes in the process as the girl felt her muscles tense up slightly.

 _"_ _This is it"_ Clem calmly told herself. As she came to the end of inhaling, she slowly exhaled her breath and reopened her eyes. Then, with shear speed, she rushed forwards through to the other end of the bushes and pointed her gun down at the figure in front, pressing the end of the barrel into the person's neck.

"Don't. Move"

Clementine spoke threateningly, her tone dark and assertive. Her grip on the rifle tightened as she pushed the barrel firmly. The figure however didn't comply, as they tried to turn round to face the girl. Clem pressed the barrel further into the person's neck again at the movements, keeping their head lent forward.

"I will kill you if you don't stop"

The person again neglected her comment and continued trying to turn around. At this point Clementine looked down to view the figure. They were wearing a torn and ragged green puffer jacket, with what was once a clean white shirt collar sticking out from underneath. Dirtied jeans adorned their legs, covered in dried mud and the fabric ends by the shoes torn and tardy.

Her gaze then turned to the ground that the person was knelt at, curious as to what they had been fiddling about at. As her eyes landed on the ground in front of the person, Clementine gasped in shock to what she saw.

She saw a dead rabbit lying idly across the ground, torn apart from the waist down. End trails of its guts protruded out from its blood-soaked fur, with chunks of bone and other bits of gore dotted across the ground.

As Clementine took a step back from the scene, realising what was standing before her, the person was finally about to turn their head round, revealing them to be a walker. A fresh one at that, as they showed little visible signs of decay. The only sign that gave the walker away was the glazed, lifeless look in the person's eyes.

The creature's jaw had completely been removed, with bits of muscle hanging loosely where their mouth had once been. A fresh coat of blood was splattered across the mouth area, with bits of guts and dirt at where the walker had tried to feed itself the rabbit.

Clem looked shockingly at the walker's mouth. It was like someone had vigorously torn out the person's mouth before they turned.

The walker stared at her blankly for a few moments, before it started trying to stand up and shuffle towards her. Seeing this, Clementine withdrew the knife from her belt, holding it at waist level, ready to strike.

As the undead creature rose to its feet, Clementine could now see a large chunk of its stomach missing on its side, the wound looking fresh. Whoever the person once was, had only died recently.

As the Walker scuffled towards her, it frailly stretched out its arms in an attempt to reach out to the girl. As the creature began to approach her, Clem gripped her knife tightly, before thrusting the blade upwards through its jawless mouth and piercing into its brain.

The attack caused a splash of blood to be painted across Clementine's face as she twisted the weapon through flesh, causing her to flinch. The walker gurgled helplessly, its head twitching violently as the knife destroyed what little life there was in the brain, before Clem sharply withdrew the blade and it crashed to the ground.

The girl stared at the walker for a moment as she caught her breath, wiping the cold blood from her face as best she could. She could have sworn the walker was a survivor.

As the walker's body twitched every now and again, its blood soaking into the dry ground, Clementine looked around once again, looking for any signs of trouble. It appeared she hadn't attracted any walkers from the attack, but she spotted half a dozen to her right, a few tree rows ahead. They were moving as a small horde in her general direction.

Clementine cautiously crouched back down as she spotted the herd, not wanting to be seen. She manoeuvred round the walker's corpse and bee lined behind another row of brambles. She wanted to get out of the vicinity as possible, as the smell of the rabbit the walker had would no doubt attract the others to the spot.

She carefully moved along with the lining of the bushes. As she came within the treeline the herd was, she stopped and carefully peeped over.

Sure enough, the walkers suddenly turned to where she'd been a minute ago, as they caught the smell of animal blood in the air. They all turned and honed in on the area like a pack of wolves, their pace quickening as their hunger set in.

Clem watched briefly as the creatures crashed through the bushes and began tucking into the rabbit and walker as they spotted their prey, before setting off away from the scene.

 _"_ _Tenn was right about there being a lot of them out here"_ Clem grimaced to herself. She'd came across several groups of walkers during the day. Some scattered around individually, but quite a few moving in small groups like she'd just seen.

It struck Clem with a sense of fearful curiosity. Why were there so many about the area, and why were they in such large clusters? It led her to believe something or someone was attracting them into the area for whatever reason.

But why?

Whatever way she looked at it however, it was a big issue. As it posed a huge threat to Ericcson's safety. The possibility of the school being overrun was now being increasingly real, and sooner or later, it would become unbearable if something wasn't done.

For now though, the girl would have to worry about that later, and concentrate at the task at hand.

Clem scanned around her surroundings as she saw another small cluster of walkers shuffling across the trees. she tucked herself behind the cover of a tree trunk as the horde slowly passed by her. As she waited for her chance to move past, she spotted a structural object in her peripheral. She snapped back to her right as she realised this and looked at it more thoroughly.

Multiple tress blocked the girl from fully seeing the building, but from what she could see, she figured it was a small shack of some sort.

She peaked her head out from the cover, checking she hadn't alerted the walkers, before moving out from cover and towards the shack.

Clementine treaded carefully across, ensuring she didn't step on anything that might create noise.

As she approached, she emerged into a clearing, and stood no less than 15 metres away from the building.

The shack was in fact a cabin, and a cosy sized one too. It was built entirely out of logs and wood, as evident by the exterior design, sitting on top of a stone foundation, that came a quarter of the way out the ground. It stood a storey tall, with a small chimney adorned on its roof. Two large glass panels were cut into the front of the house with closed curtains inside. It also had a stoned porch, with a couple seats on its deck and a swing chair to the side of the door.

Several bits of rubbish, including opened tins, wrappers and glass bottles sat scattered about the area. It was evident no one had been here for a long time.

Clementine stood upright as she spotted no walkers in the vicinity, relieving her knees slightly of her weight. At this point she spotted a large embankment hill that stretched up at the back of the house, clear of any vegetation, made entirely of dirt. It was at a sharp incline, with a built, stepped pathway up and a log bannister up to the top, where the trees resumed their boundary.

As Clem looked at the house, the forest all of a sudden became increasingly dark, and a cold breeze suddenly swept through the woodland. A violent shiver erupted from the girl as the air blew through her jacket, reminding her that it was getting late.

" _I guess I'm making camp here then"_

Clementine unshouldered her rifle and held it at the ready as she started proceeding towards the cabin.

As she approached the 1 story house, she spotted a few solar panels adorned on the front side of the roof. Seemingly intact and working.

" _They could come in handy sometime"_ Clem Mentally noted, before looking back to the ground.

She went up the steps on the porch slowly, rifle slightly raised at the front door. The swing gently swayed as another breeze gently blew past, emitting a small but pitchy creak with each oscillation. The slight wind also caused a few bits of rubbish on the floor to roll along the plank boards, creating a loud rattling against the wooden flooring.

Clementine stopped at the foot of the door, her feet sitting on a worn front porch carpet. She read the faded writing on the mat, barely making out 'Home Sweet Home', but returning back to the door. Clem slowly lowered her gun down and pulled out her knife from her belt, and knocked on the door with the butt of the handle. She did so 3 times.

She listened intently for a minute as she paid attention to any scuffling or noises coming from within inside. She then pressed her ear against the door for better hearing. Nothing could be heard, except for the outside wind and the swing's dying creaks.

Deciding it was safe to proceed, Clementine tried twisting the door knob to open. She gently pushed, only to find the door unable to budge; it was locked.

"Nothing new there" Clementine said out loud.

She looked down at the door mat she was standing on, an idea suddenly striking her. She stepped off the mat, lent down and lifted it up from the planks. It peeled away from the planks beneath like a heavily worn sticky plaster. Nothing was underneath, only a clean outline of where the mat had covered the flooring from dirt. The girl sighed to herself.

"Great"

Clementine sat the mat back down and stood back up. Forcing the door open may attract attention, so she decided to look around for another entrance.

She turned and began making her way off the porch towards the rear of the cabin, her feet catching some of the rubbish that had rolled in the wind. The sound of metal kicking up against the flooring suddenly caught the girl's attention. She looked down, seeing a couple shell casings dotted across the floor. She stopped and eyed them for a moment as they rolled along, before continuing. She followed the porch's steps down and turned right, going down the side of the cabin with the embankment and pathway on her left.

Clementine looked around at the structure. It was odd to think that this place had been tucked away, unaffected by the world's affairs and ordeals. That such places even existed anymore. It made her happy that she was proven wrong for a change.

The girl reached the back of the house and was greeted with the sight of a small patio pave the ground, with a rusty BBQ & patio warmer, and some broken toys dotted across the stone tiles. She then saw to the right a pair of bins leant up against the cabins wall and a pair of stairs leading up to a backdoor.

She walked up the stairs and spotted a small rock on the porch. Intrigued, Clem picked it up flipped it over. She was greeted by a silver brass key, sitting in a cut out hole in the stone.

"Bingo" Clementine smiled, as picked the key out from its hold. She then inserted the key into the lock, twisted it, and then slowly opened the door.

As the door swung inwards, Clementine was greeted by the sight of the kitchen, followed by the dark interior of the house. She could see through the kitchen to where the living room was, the windows from the front allowing a little light through. Aside from that however, it was rather difficult to see.

Clementine entered the kitchen cautiously, holding her knife at the ready. Her footsteps silently tread against the tiled flooring as she made her way to the entranceway to the living room. She peered her head out from the frame and looked around, looking left to right. All she saw was a little hallway to the right, which led to what she presumed were a bedroom, a bathroom and cloakroom.

"Hello?" Clementine spoke. "Anyone here?" She readied her knife as she scanned the room for any movement in the shadows. She relaxed however, when she heard or saw nothing move.

It was at this point however Clementine spotted somebody in the far left corner of the room, sitting idly in a chair. The girl made her way across the living room to investigate, passing various bits of furniture as she did so.

As she approached, she saw the skeletal remains of a body leant back on an old fashioned style armchair. A ragged set of jeans and shirt hung loosely over the bones, appearing extremely baggy on the person's bones.

As the girl stopped at the foot of the scene, she saw a massive hole gaping through the top of the skull, with faded blood stains on the wall behind it, and a handgun in the corpse's boned grip in its lap.

Clementine stared at the body sadly, seeing how it had ended for them. She couldn't help but feel remorseful at the scene, as it reminded her that not everyone could deal with the world ending.

Clementine stood in silence for a couple seconds, looking at the scene, before she crouched down. Her intention to retrieve the pistol. She carefully reached over with her left hand peeled the boney fingers off the gun's handle, before taking it out with her other hand.

She quickly examined the weapon's condition as she briefly turned it round. It appeared in good condition. She pressed the magazine release by the trigger's side and pulled out the gun's clip from underneath. Clementine smiled, seeing there was a few rounds still left.

She pushed the magazine back into the weapon, and was about to put it away, before she noticed some scratch marks along the gun's slide by the cocking hammer. Four little lines were crudely etched into the metalwork in the form of a tally. Two lines in particular however, appeared deeper and wider than the other two.

"Hmm" Clementine looked at the markings for a moment, before placing it behind her back.

Clementine then spotted a rolled up piece of paper hanging in the other body's hand in its lap. Curious, she reached out and gently slid the scrunched up note from the skeleton's hand. She carefully unscrambled the note, untangling the various creases and making sure not to tear the paper apart. She opened the note fully, seeing faded parchment written all across the paper. Clementine squinted slightly, as she struggled slightly to read it in the dark.

My Dearest Anna. I didn't mean to drag you into this whole mess. The whole ordeal that went down in town. It just happened all so quickly. She was standing next to me 1 minute. And then the next. Maybe she'd still be here if I'd paid more attention, rather than rushing into decisions. I hope the family at the farm can help her, but somehow, I doubt they can. I'm sorry how this all ended. I hope you can forgive me.

Yours and Always Mine

Ian

Clementine looked up from the note and sadly shook her head at the skeleton. A wave of nausea suddenly hit her, as she began to feel melancholy. How this man must have felt in his last moments alive must have been awful.

Not wanting to dwell on it anymore, Clementine slowly stood upright and began searching the place for supplies. She figured there must be something useful in the house and distract her from the man in the chair.

Clementine first closed the back door, before starting in the living room. Once she searched the room, she moved on to the kitchen.

As she progressed into each room, she secured all the windows and entrances walkers may use to get in to the cabin and closed all the curtains so no one could see inside. She made a note of the parameters as she did so, assessing the best ways to escape if she had to.

Clementine spent a good 30 minutes rummaging through various bits of furniture, as she found little bits and pieces that could be useful. Despite the cabin's small size, it had a fair amount of areas to search through.

After wrapping up the bathroom, Clementine finally came to the bedroom. She entered through the open doorway, seeing a large double bed propped up against the left side. A large black fluffy rug was laid across parallel to the bed, with the addition of a wardrobe, set of drawers, a bookshelf and a curtained window to the right.

The girl pulled the curtain out slightly, gazing out the window. Outside it was nearly pitch black, she unable to make out much, other than the outline of some trees nearby and the embankment's incline. Clem felt a little startled that it had grown dark so quickly. She let go of the curtain, allowing it to return to its normal position.

She searched through the room like the others for about 10 minutes, before she settled down on the rug by the bed and placed her backpack down beside her. She opened it up and pulled out a candle and match.

She placed the candle in front of her away from the rug, whipped out a match from its box and lit it, before lighting the candle. It glowed brightly as she brought the match to the candle's wick, emitting a low but visible light in the room, allowing the girl to see a little more clearly. She placed the matches to the side, before pulling out her newly acquired supplies.

"Ok, let's see what we've got here"

A first aid box with bandages and antibiotics. A spare magazine clip with full rounds, matches, a couple kid's comics and a Beet-Nick toy.

"AJ & Tenn will love these" Clementine grinned to herself as she placed the books and toy to her right before continuing her inventory.

A claw hammer, a whetstone, a couple shotgun cartridges, and a can of beans.

She gazed over to the wardrobe within the room. She had also found some fur lined jackets, as well as fresh pairs of clothes and shoes, but she decided to leave those for now, as she wouldn't be able to carry everything otherwise.

"And of course, the candle"

Clementine quietly grinned to herself as she looked at the burning flame. There had been a fair few dotted about in the bathroom. Half melted most of them were of course, and the entire bathroom had a lingering odour of burnt wax. Nevertheless, it smelt pleasant, and surprisingly to Clem, comforting.

"Huh, didn't think I'd be the type" Clementine quietly thought to herself, grinning at the thought. It seemed she was still learning things about herself.

Lastly, she pulled out the pistol she'd found from the living room. She examined it more in depth, seeing that, other than a couple parts on the sights & trigger were worn down, it was in good condition.

She rotated the weapon round near the candle light, spotting the tally marks from earlier. She looked at the deeper etchings on the side of the weapon's frame. She looked in intriguingly at the markings for a minute, before putting it away.

An uncontrollable yawn suddenly erupted from the girl's mouth, closely followed by a heavy drowsiness. Clementine's eyes suddenly became heavy as she stretched her arms outright; her body signalled for rest.

The girl stared at the flickering light from the candle for a few more seconds, before she gently inhaled and blew the flame out. The room descended into darkness as the wick snuffed out and small smoke entrails rose up through the room.

Clementine placed her bag underneath the bottom of the bed, and then crawled under it herself. She positioned herself as comfortably as possible at the top of where the bed frame was.

As she found a comfortable position up against the plaster of the wall, Clementine tucked herself in a ball. As she laid on her side against the cool plaster, Clementine tucked her hands underneath her head and brought her knees up slightly to her chest.

She immediately felt the calling of sleep beckon her as she closed her eyes, and as her body relaxed into a peaceful state, Clementine felt her mind slowly drift into the realms of sleep.

As night fell and people began heading off to bed, ready for the next day, some found it more difficult to find such peace.

AJ was one of them.

The boy silently sat in the guard tower, staring sleepily out at the dark wilderness beyond the wall. He balanced his head against his arm, which was supported by the brick walling, in an effort to keep himself propped up and awake. He felt his eyes droop every now and again as his tiredness set in, but he was determined to fight against it.

From across the other side of the courtyard, Louis & Ruby watched the boy with concerned gazes.

"He's been up there all day, bless him" Ruby said worryingly.

"Yeah, ever since he found out about Clem" Louis replied. "He sure does care for her"

"You got that right. Never seen anyone care so much for someone. Not even when Minnie and Vi were a thing"

"Yeah, me neither" Louis sighed deeply. "I guess it's strange, seeing that kind of care from someone these days. Seems unheard of"

"Yeah"

A long silence filled between the two as they continued watching AJ. They both knew they needed to get him down to bed, but neither of them wanted to be the one to do it.

After a while however, Louis surprisingly broke the silence.

"Are you gonna do it, or me?" He looked over to Ruby. She looked back with a slight frown on her face.

"How about you do it? Do something useful around here for a change?"

Louis grinned at the comment. "Hey, I've been trying to interrogate that creep all day, remember?"

"Yeah, _Trying_ to. Didn't exactly get us far from what I heard. Willie said It was like talking to a brick wall"

Louis huffed. "He would. All he did was stand there and mock me for not getting anything out of the guy"

Ruby simply stood in silence, crossing her arms in a serious matter.

"What?! I tried my best alright. Interrogation isn't exactly my thing"

"I'll tell you what" Louis reached down and rummaged through his right coat pocket.

"I'll flip you for it" The boy pulled his hand back out, holding a deck of cards.

"Really? You're going to decide through those" Ruby spoke half sarcastically, as she looked down at the boy's hand.

"Of course. How else do you think we'll decide, other than bickering to ourselves?"

"I dunno, maybe by you behaving your age for once and doing it yourself"

Louis couldn't help but laugh a little at Ruby's comment.

"Touchè my dear old Ruby" He cocked his eyebrow at the girl in a mocking manner. It was Ruby's turn to let out a huff.

"Besides, these babies have helped deal with a lot of situations like the one we're in now. We've gotten to know Clem better, helped Willy & Tenn settle their arguments" Louis paused for a moment as he leaned in slightly towards the girl.

"Heard confessions of who loves who"

Louis raised his eyebrows playfully up and down a few times, a cocky smile painted across his face. Ruby realised what he was implying and felt her cheeks quickly flush, before shoving the boy back in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Was all Ruby could muster.

"I'll take that as you'll participate?" Louis's grin grew wider as he cornered the girl into an answer.

"Fine"

At that, Louis extended the deck to Ruby.

"Ladies first" Ruby rolled her eyes, before she reached out and took a random card from the pile. Louis did the same afterwards. As both teens held a card, they simultaneously revealed their cards to each other.

Louis held a 10 of Spades. Ruby on the other hand, held a Queen of Hearts.

"Well that settles it then" Ruby let off a large grin. "Looks like you're going up" She gestured to the tower. Louis frowned as he stared at their cards, before accepting his defeat. The boy huffed, before making his way to the tower.

As Louis made his way across the courtyard, Ruby couldn't help but feel amused. She was loving every moment of this.

Louis stopped as he came to the base of the tower. He looked up at the wooden ladder that reached up to the top. He sighed and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"You got this" Louis quietly whispered to himself, before he grabbed onto the ladder and began climbing up.

Every step that Louis passed, the wood creaked under his weight, making him feel nervous and tense. No doubt that, AJ could hear the boy ascending up.

Louis felt slightly nauseous as he neared the top. Talking to people was one thing, but in a serious way? It was unchartered territory to him, as he'd never really seen the need to. Why dwell on being serious, when you can have fun and make people laugh? That's how he saw the world. In fact, that's all he's ever seen it as; a world without care.

But being in the apocalypse, there seemed to be little room for that anymore.

As Louis finally reached the top, he saw AJ still propped against the wall with his hand heled against head. He still staring out to the dark abyss of the forest.

"Hey Little dude" Louis warmly said.

"Hey Louis" AJ replied half tiredly, not breaking his distant gaze on the woodland.

Louis immediately felt the pit in his stomach grow. He knew this was going to be difficult.

"What ya doing up here so late? Willie's supposed to take over soon"

"I told Willie I would do his guard duty for him"

"That's nice" Louis paused.

"Why don't you let me take over though huh? You get some rest for tomorrow"

AJ sighed, tapping the brick wall lazily with his other hand. Despite him being visibly tired & struggling to keep his eyes open, AJ still wanted to stay up.

"I'm okay" AJ drowsily replied.

"You're worried about Clem, aren't you?" Louis stated, finally having the guts to address the issue. AJ's silence gave the answer Louis was looking for.

"She'll be okay. She's tough and knows how to handle herself. Better than I can anyway" Louis continued.

"We expected that though. Clem said you guys had led a sheltered life, and not to be surprised if you can't handle yourselves"

"Gee, she actually said that?" Louis scratched the back of his head out of slight embarrassment.

"I guess we could improve our game haha" Louis nervously laughed. This conversation wasn't help calm his nerves at all.

At this point, AJ finally looked over to Louis. "You guys don't know what life's like out there. Like what it's _really_ like" the boy turned his look back to the forest. "living out there, on your own. Struggling to find shelter. Not knowing when you're going to see food again.

AJ paused for a moment before continuing.

"I do. And I know how hard that can be. I know Clem does too. And she's done it by herself for a lot longer than I have. But that doesn't stop me worrying. I care for her. A lot.

The kid looked back at the forest.

"If I lost her, I don't know what I'd do"

Louis was stunned to say the least at what AJ was saying. He was only about 6 years old, and already he was acting more mature than himself. It was a concept that Louis was only now beginning to learn about. It shocked him slightly, but in a weird sense, also enlightened him.

Feeling this, Louis decided to respond.

"I understand that little dude. I hate the idea of not knowing what's going to happen next. But, it's something we have to deal with"

"But people like Clem, they always make it out of that unknown. No matter what happens, she'll always emerge from the shit show and be standing tall" AJ looked back at Louis with intrigue.

"And I know, whatever she encounters, she'll deal with, so she can continue being with you. She cares for you just as much as you do for her. And in this world, that gets you a long way"

"I know she's not here now, but she will be. I promise"

"You mean that Louis?" AJ looked at Louis with his deep brown eyes. He nodded firmly at him.

"I sincerely do" He then put his left hand up to his chest where his heart was. He then crossed 2 lines perpendicular to each other in the shape of an X, while he did a scout salute in his other hand.

"I cross my heart, and hope to die if I ever do lie"

AJ laughed a little as Louis did the gestures. "That's a funny way of promising"

Louis couldn't help join in with the laughter. "It's some stupid thing we use to do in Scouts"

"You do that when you're out scouting?" AJ looked puzzled at the boy. He simply smiled at the boy's naivety.

"I'll explain it to you another time. But for now, scuddle out of here and get some sleep. It'll be no good if you're asleep when Clem comes back"

AJ nodded. He rose up from his position and walked over to the ladder where Louis was standing. But before he made his way down, AJ wrapped his hands round Louis's waist as best he could and hugged him tightly. The teen was taken back slightly by the gesture, but he welcomed it nevertheless. He felt a smile grow on his face, as he hugged the child back.

"Thanks Louis"

"No problem little dude" The pair broke away from one another as AJ let out a loud yawn. Louis looked down and saw Ruby slowly approaching the tower.

"Go on, get outta here before Ruby comes up here too"

AJ looked behind him, seeing the red haired girl coming across the courtyard. He looked back at Louis.

"She's not scary you know"

Louis let out a cheeky grin. "She is to me. Quick, let's go before she catches us up here!"

AJ made his way down the ladder as fast as he could. Louis followed suit a few seconds later, as the little boy hastily made his way down the wooden steps.

As Ruby approached the tower's base, AJ stepped down off the last step and turned round. He looked at the girl, who looked back at him. She smiled warmly at him, while AJ giggled and ran off away from her like a little kid in the playground.

Ruby watched the boy make his way across the area towards his room, before turning her attention to Louis. She looked at him and furrowed her brow at him as he began his descent down.

"What exactly did you say to him about me?" Ruby asked. She knew he'd said something.

"Nothing at all my dear" Louis called back down. "Just general chit chat"

"Just general chit chat" Ruby mockingly repeated, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer.

"How did it go then?"

"Not too bad to be honest. Being serious for a change actually felt good"

Surprised at his answer, Ruby's frowned expression changed to one of intrigue.

"I never thought I'd hear that from you Louis Greene, of all people" She let a small chuckle at the revelation.

"Maybe things are finally changing for you, for the better"

"Yeah. Maybe so" Louis said as he reached the bottom of the ladder. He turned round and faced Ruby. "Not gonna lie, kinda felt good"

"Good. I'm glad" Ruby smiled smugly in triumph. Without him knowing, Ruby had managed to finally break some sense into the boy, after all these years.

"One thing that I'll ask you about it though" Louis chipped in.

"Mmm, and what's that?" Ruby replied as she came out of her thoughts. The boy gently leaned in towards her, and as he did so, he raised a hand and cupped it to his mouth.

"Don't ask me to do it again"

Louis grinned wildly one last time at the girl, before he casually walked off from the girl. Realising what he'd said, Ruby's smug expression quickly returned to it's original frowned look. As she watched him make his way back into the school however, she giggled to herself one more time, realising that some people, will never change.


End file.
